In-Situ X-ray Diffraction Study of MXene Synthesis in Molten Cl- and Br- salts

MXenes are single or multilayer two-dimensional (2D) transition metal carbides and nitrides, widely recognized as one of the fastest growing areas in 2D materials research. One of the features of MXenes is their surface functional groups, the nature of which depends on the chemical etching environment. In this regards, halogen and chalcogen surface groups, attached to the MXenes' surface as the result of chemical etching in Lewis acid molten salts have recently attracted much attention due to their high chemical stability and uniform coverage. In this proposal we aim to study the exfoliation kinetics from V2AlC and Ti2AlN MAX phases annealing in molten Cl- and Br- salts to MXenes by in-situ time-resolved synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction. In such experiments, we expect to elucidate the formation mechanism of V2C and Ti2N MXenes with halogen (Cl and Br) termination. Such data cannot be gained using ex-situ experiments carried out after cooling and washing.