Understanding Chemistry of Two-Dimensional Transition Metal Carbides and Carbonitrides (MXenes) with Gas Analysis

MXenes, a large family of two-dimensional materials that are intensely investigated for a broad range of applications, are unstable in water, spontaneously forming TiO2. Several hypotheses have been proposed recently to explain the transformations of MXenes in aqueous environments based on characterization of solid products and measurements of solution pH. However, no studies of the gaseous products of these reactions have been reported. In this work, we demonstrate the use of Raman spectroscopy and gas chromatography techniques to study the gaseous reaction products of Ti2C, Ti3C2, Ti3CN, and Nb2C MXenes in aqueous environments. Based on the analysis of gases, the reactivities of MXenes with different monolayer thickness and chemical composition have been analyzed. We demonstrate the analysis of gases produced during MXene transformations as a powerful technique that can be used for better understanding of their nontrivial chemistry.