Facet-dependent catalytic activity of two-dimensional Ti3C2Tx MXene on hydrogen storage performance of MgH2

Two-dimensional Ti3 C2 Tx MXenes exposing different active facets are introduced into MgH2 , and their catalytic effects are systematically investigated in depth through experimental and theoretical approaches. Excluding factors such as interlayer space, surface functional groups and experimental contingency, the exposed facets is considered to be the dominant factor for catalytic activity of Ti3 C2 Tx towards MgH2 . More exposed edge facets of Ti3 C2 Tx displays higher catalytic activity than that with more exposed basal facets, which also leads to different rate-controlling steps of MgH2 in the de/hydrogenation process. The low work function, strong hydrogen affinity and high content of in situ metallic Ti for the edge facet contribute the high catalytic activity. This work will give insights into the structural design of two-dimensional Ti3 C2 Tx MXene used for enhancing the catalytic activity in various fields. (c) 2022 Chongqing University. Publishing services provided by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ) Peer review under responsibility of Chongqing University

Automated summary

The catalytic effects of two-dimensional Ti3C2Tx MXenes with different exposed facets on MgH2 were systematically investigated through experimental and theoretical approaches. The exposed facets were found to be the dominant factor for the catalytic activity of Ti3C2Tx towards MgH2. Ti3C2Tx with more exposed edge facets exhibited higher catalytic activity than that with more exposed basal facets and resulted in different rate-controlling steps during the de/hydrogenation process of MgH2.