Effect of surfactants on the morphology of ferroelectric crystals grown from MXene
Shaobo Tu,
Jiahui Li,
Xixiang Zhang,
Xingjun Liu,
Jiancheng Tang
Affiliations
Shaobo Tu
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Road, Honggutan District, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330031, China
Jiahui Li
School of Materials Science and Engineering, and Institute of Materials Genome and Big Data, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, People’s Republic of China
Xixiang Zhang
Materials Science and Engineering, Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
Xingjun Liu
School of Materials Science and Engineering, and Institute of Materials Genome and Big Data, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, People’s Republic of China
Jiancheng Tang
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Road, Honggutan District, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330031, China
In this study, we demonstrate the effects of surfactants on the morphology of Nb2C MXene-derived ferroelectric KNbO3 crystals. We synthesized plate-like KNbO3 crystals using Nb2C MXene and KOH as niobium and potassium sources, respectively, and sodium dodecyl sulfate as the surfactant. In addition, we conducted the same hydrothermal process for Nb2C MXene and KOH as niobium and potassium sources, respectively, and benzyltriethylammonium chloride as a surfactant; we found that the final product exhibits bulk morphology. We show that the morphology of MXene-derived KNbO3 crystals is strongly related to the interaction between the MXene flakes and the functional groups of the surfactant during the hydrothermal process.
