International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol.82, pp.892-900, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)
Nitride-based MXenes materials are promising for advancing technological developments, especially in popular scientific fields such as energy storage and conversion. This study successfully synthesized 2D lamellar Ti2NTx MXenes via selective etching of Al from the Ti2AlN MAX phase. Synthesized Ti2NTx MXene was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope with energy-dispersive X–Ray spectroscopy attachment (FESEM-EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X–Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analyses techniques in details. 2D lamellar morphology of MXene phase was observed with FESEM, while distinctive diffraction peaks were confirmed with XRD analyses. While the BET surface area of the MAX phase was 0.5375 m2/g, it was measured as 2.0867 m2/g with Ti2NTx MXene which increased by 3.88 times. Ti–O–N, Ti–N, and surface functional groups (Tx: OH, –F, –O) of Ti2NTx MXenes were revealed with XPS analyses. (112) crystal plane associated interplanar d-space (0.243 nm) was observed with HRTEM results. The electrocatalytic activity of synthesized Ti2NTx MXene was investigated by hydrazine electrooxidation. The Ti2NTx electrocatalyst exhibited a specific activity of 2.739 mA/cm2 and mass activity of 44.1 mA/mg for hydrazine electrooxidation. Ti2N also showed long-term stability compared to Ti2AlN.