Abstract
Polymer nanocomposite films are of great interest due to their enhanced properties over base polymers. By incorporating 2D titanium carbide – a representative of a new family of 2D materials, MXenes, as nanofillers into a water soluble polyacrylamide (PAM) matrix, the resulting films benefit from the flexibility, robustness, and processability of PAM, as well as the conductivity and mechanical properties of MXene fillers. Here, we report on manufacturing and characterization of MXene-PAM nanocomposite films. Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) intercalation in-between the Ti3C2-based MXene layers led to full delamination of the MXene layers and hence a uniform dispersion of hydrophilic MXene nanosheets in aqueous PAM solutions was achieved. The polymer composite solutions of up to 75 wt.% MXene loading were sonicated and cast onto large Teflon trays and dried at room temperature to produce shiny black films. The observation of reduced 0002 peaks of Ti3C2Tx phase in X-ray diffraction patterns and TEM images indicate the presence of well dispersed nanoflakes. The as-prepared composite films are flexible and the conductivity was increased significantly to 3 x 10-3 S cm-1 for 6 wt. % MXene-PAM films. With high MXene loading, some non-uniformity between the top and bottom surfaces was observed. This could be due to the segregation of MXene layers in composite films during drying. The power law dependence of conductivity above the percolation threshold is presented through detailed conductivity measurements.
