Aqueous solution-processed MXene (Ti3C2Tx) for non-hydrophilic epoxy resin-based composites with enhanced mechanical and physical properties

Abstract

Herein, MXene (Ti3C2Tx)/epoxy composites with homogeneously dispersed Ti3C2Tx sheets have been successfully prepared through functionalization of Ti3C2Tx, and the effects of Ti3C2Tx on mechanical and physical properties of epoxy are studied. It is found that the addition of 0.2 wt% Ti3C2Tx leads to increased tensile strength and flexural strength by 51% and 32%, respectively. However, higher filler content of Ti3C2Tx causes defects due to agglomeration, which decreases the mechanical properties of the composites. The addition of Ti3C2Tx to the epoxy improves the storage modulus because of the reduction in the crosslinking density in the epoxy matrix. Moreover, the glass transition temperatures also decline monotonically with increasing MXene content. Moreover, Ti3C2Tx is found to enhance the thermal and electrical conductivities of the epoxy composites, which arouses more enthusiasm for applications in coatings, supercapacitor packaging, 3D printing, and fabrication of multifunctional devices.

Keywords

• MXene Ti3C2Tx
• Functionalization
• MXene/epoxy composites
• Mechanical properties
• Thermal and electrical conductivities