Pressure-dependent electronic structure of two-dimensional V2CTz MXene single crystal studied by XANES

The aim of this proposal is to investigate the pressure-induced modification of crystal lattice and electronic structure of two-dimensional V2CTz MXenes (Tz are = O and -Cl surface groups) by means of X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Depending on the chemical etching environment, the exfoliated 2D MXene layers possess different surface functional groups and interlayer spacing defining their band structure and electronic properties. The fundamental question is how the surface functional groups and chemical bonding affect the band structure of 2D MXenes. Since pressure allows to change the interlayer distance, the van der Waals interaction and the electronic states, we propose to perform pressure-induced XANES studies at the K edges of transition metal and surface groups of functionalized V2CTz MXene single crystal in the 1-20 GPa. In such ground-breaking experiments, we expect a significant impact on the MXenes’ electronic structure under applying pressure.