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Journal of Advanced Ceramics 2024, 13(1): 1-10 https://doi.org/10.26599/JAC.2024.9220830
Research Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 18 January 2024

Ultra-high-temperature application of MXene: Stabilization of 2D Ti3C2Tx for cross-scale strengthening and toughening of 3D TiC

Show Author's Information Lu Liu1,  Guobing Ying1( ),  Quanguo Jiang1,  Dong Wen1,2,3,  Peng Wang1,  Meng Wu1,  Ziying Ji1,  Yongting Zheng4,  Xiang Wang2
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Mechanics and Materials, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China
Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials & Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China
Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen 518055, China
Center for Composite Materials and Structures, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
Keywords:
MXene, interface bonding, cross-scale strengthening and toughening, structural ceramic composites, ultra-high-temperature phase stability
Cite this article:
Liu L, Ying G, Jiang Q, et al. Ultra-high-temperature application of MXene: Stabilization of 2D Ti3C2Tx for cross-scale strengthening and toughening of 3D TiC. Journal of Advanced Ceramics, 2024, 13(1): 1-10. https://doi.org/10.26599/JAC.2024.9220830
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

Transition metal carbide/nitride cores within MXenes make them considerably useful for ultra-high-temperature reinforcement. However, extensive research on Ti3C2Tx MXene has revealed its tendency to undergo a phase transition to TiCy at temperatures above 800 ℃ due to high activity of a superficial Ti atomic layer. Herein, spark plasma sintering of Ti3C2Tx and TiC is performed to prevent the Ti3C2Tx phase transition at temperatures up to 1900 ℃ through the fabrication of composites at a pressure of 50 MPa. Using a focused ion beam scanning electron microscope to separate layered substances in the composites and examining selected area diffraction spots in a transmission electron microscope enabled identification of non-phase-transitioned MXene. First-principles calculations based on density functional theory indicated the formation of strong chemical bonding interfaces between Ti3C2Tx and TiC, which imposed a stability constraint on the Ti atomic layer at the Ti3C2Tx surface. Mechanical performance tests, such as three-point bending and fracture toughness analysis, demonstrated that the addition of Ti3C2Tx can effectively improve the cross-scale strengthening and toughening of the TiC matrix, providing a new path for designing and developing two-dimensional (2D) carbides cross-scale-enhanced three-dimensional (3D) carbides with the same elements relying on a wide variety of MXenes.


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About this article

Ultra-high-temperature application of MXene: Stabilization of 2D Ti3C2Tx for cross-scale strengthening and toughening of 3D TiC

Show Author's information Lu Liu1, Guobing Ying1( ), Quanguo Jiang1, Dong Wen1,2,3, Peng Wang1, Meng Wu1, Ziying Ji1, Yongting Zheng4, Xiang Wang2
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Mechanics and Materials, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China
Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials & Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China
Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen 518055, China
Center for Composite Materials and Structures, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China

Abstract

Transition metal carbide/nitride cores within MXenes make them considerably useful for ultra-high-temperature reinforcement. However, extensive research on Ti3C2Tx MXene has revealed its tendency to undergo a phase transition to TiCy at temperatures above 800 ℃ due to high activity of a superficial Ti atomic layer. Herein, spark plasma sintering of Ti3C2Tx and TiC is performed to prevent the Ti3C2Tx phase transition at temperatures up to 1900 ℃ through the fabrication of composites at a pressure of 50 MPa. Using a focused ion beam scanning electron microscope to separate layered substances in the composites and examining selected area diffraction spots in a transmission electron microscope enabled identification of non-phase-transitioned MXene. First-principles calculations based on density functional theory indicated the formation of strong chemical bonding interfaces between Ti3C2Tx and TiC, which imposed a stability constraint on the Ti atomic layer at the Ti3C2Tx surface. Mechanical performance tests, such as three-point bending and fracture toughness analysis, demonstrated that the addition of Ti3C2Tx can effectively improve the cross-scale strengthening and toughening of the TiC matrix, providing a new path for designing and developing two-dimensional (2D) carbides cross-scale-enhanced three-dimensional (3D) carbides with the same elements relying on a wide variety of MXenes.

Keywords: MXene, interface bonding, cross-scale strengthening and toughening, structural ceramic composites, ultra-high-temperature phase stability

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Publication history

Received: 19 September 2023
Revised: 14 November 2023
Accepted: 20 November 2023
Published: 18 January 2024
Issue date: January 2024

Copyright

© The Author(s) 2024.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

The authors greatly appreciate Prof. Songlin Ran from the School of Materials Science and Engineering (Anhui University of Technology) for his assistance in using spark plasma sintering of composite samples. The authors also would like to thank Huihua Min from the Electron Microscope Lab (Nanjing Forestry University) for the SEM characterization. Cong Hu, Cheng Sun, Jianxin Zhang, Yinlong Zhao, and Yiran Wu (Hohai University) are acknowledged for their investigation and many stimulating discussions. We also thank Junjing Ding from SCIXAS Lab (www.scixas.com) for the FIB-SEM sampling and characterization.

The authors greatly acknowledge the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11872171, 91016014, and 51872062) and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. B200202117).

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This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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