Chalcogen (S, Se, and Te) decorated few-layered Ti3C2Tx MXene hybrids: modulation of properties through covalent bonding

2D carbides and nitrides of transition metals (MXenes) have shown great promise in a variety of energy storage and energy conversion applications. The extraordinary properties of MXenes are because of their excellent conductivity, large carrier concentration, vast specific surface area, superior hydrophilicity, high volumetric capacitance, and rich surface chemistry. However, it is still desired to synthesize MXenes with specific functional groups that deliver the required characteristics. This is due to the fact that a considerable amount of metal atoms is exposed on the surface of MXenes during their synthesis through an etching procedure; hence, other anions and cations are uncontrollably implanted on their surfaces. Because of this situation, the first invented Ti3C2Tx MXene suffers from low photoresponsivity and detectivity, large overpotential, and small sensitivity in photoelectrochemical (PEC) photodetectors, hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and sensing applications. Therefore, surface modification of the MXene structure is required to develop the device's performance. On the other hand, there is still a lack of understanding of the MXene mechanism in such cutting-edge applications. Thus, the manipulations of MXenes are highly dependent on understanding the device mechanism, suitable modification elements, and modification methods. This study for the first time reveals the conjugation effect of pre-selected S, Se, and Te chalcogen elements on a few-layered Ti3C2Tx MXene to synthesize new composites for PEC photodetector, HER, and vapor sensor applications. Also, the mechanism of the chalcogen decorated few-layered Ti3C2Tx MXene composites for each application is discussed. The selection of a few-layered Ti3C2Tx MXene is due to its fascinating characteristics which make it capable to be considered as an appropriate substrate and incorporating chalcogen atoms. The Te-decorated few-layered Ti3C2Tx MXene composite provides better performances in PEC photodetector and vapor sensing applications. Although the potential value of the Se-decorated few-layered Ti3C2Tx composite is slightly lower than that of the Te-decorated sample in HER application, its overpotential is still greater than that of the Te-decorated sample. The acquired results show that the S-decorated few-layered Ti3C2Tx composite demonstrates the lowest performance in all three examined applications in comparison with the other two samples.

Automated summary

2D carbides and nitrides of transition metals (MXenes) have promising properties for energy storage and conversion applications. However, the surface modification of MXenes is necessary to enhance their performance. This study investigates the conjugation effect of S, Se, and Te chalcogen elements on a few-layered Ti3C2Tx MXene for PEC photodetector, HER, and vapor sensor applications. Results show that Te-decorated MXene composite performs the best in PEC photodetector and vapor sensing, while Se-decorated MXene has a slightly lower potential value in HER application. S-decorated MXene shows the lowest performance among the three samples.