Preparation and characterization of polymer-Ti3C2Tx (MXene) composite nanofibers produced via electrospinning

MXene, a recently-discovered family of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal carbides and/or nitrides, have attracted much interest because of their unique electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties. In this study, poly(acrylic acid), poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and alginate/PEO were electrospun with delaminated Ti3C2 (MXene) flakes. The effect of small additions of delaminated Ti3C2 (1% w/w) on the structure and properties of the nanofibers were investigated and compared with those of the neat polymer nanofibers using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Ti3C2 had an effect on the solution properties of the polymer and a greater effect on the average fiber diameter. The Ti(3)C(2)Tx/PEO solution exhibited the largest change in viscosity and conductivity with an 11% and 73.6% increase over the base polymer, respectively. X-ray diffractograms demonstrated a high degree of crystallization for Ti3C2/PEO and a slight decrease in crystallinity for Ti3C2/PVA. (C) 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.