Synthesis of Ti3C2Tz MXene from low-cost and environmentally friendly precursors

Herein we report an approach to synthesis Ti3AlC2 MAX phase and Ti3C2Tz MXene from low-cost precursors, viz. recycled carbon recovered from waste tire, recycled aluminum scrap, and titanium oxide. By adjusting the ratios of the initial materials, we determined that 3TiO2+6Al+1.9C resulted in the purest sample of Ti3AlC2 when heated at 1,350 °C for 1 h. The MXene phase was synthesized by modified minimally intensive layer delamination and acid etching under N2 purging. The final Ti3C2Tz films demonstrated conductivity of 5857 ± 680 S/cm and capacitance of 285 F/g (1,012 F/cm3) at 20 mV/s scan rates, which are comparable with that produced from MAX phase of high-purity elemental precursors (viz. Ti, Al and C). Choosing readily available and inexpensive precursor materials such as these allows for a drastic reduction in production cost of the MXene, as well as reducing the environmental impact of the industry.