Metal/MXene composites via in situ reduction | Nature Synthesis
Nature Synthesis (2024)Cite this article
1213 Accesses
2 Altmetric
Metrics details
Metal/two-dimensional substrate composites offer a rich library of materials that can have application in catalysis, sensing, biotechnology and other fields. In situ reduction deposition provides a scalable method for fabricating metal/MXene composites, but the rational control of metal nanostructures growth on MXene remains difficult. Here a strategy for the in situ reduction deposition of various metals (Au, Pd, Ag, Pt, Rh, Ru and Cu) on Ti3C2Tx MXene is demonstrated. This study uncovers the guiding principles of the metal deposition process on MXene nanosheets, including the influence of redox potential, metal coordination and lattice mismatch. A series of metal/MXene composites with fine-tuned structures were constructed based on these guiding principles, such as Pd@Au-Edge/Ti3C2Tx, Pt@Au-Edge/Ti3C2Tx, Au@Ag@Au-Surface/Ti3C2Tx and Ag@Pd@Au-Edge/Ti3C2Tx. In addition, the in situ reduction strategy can be extended to other MXene materials, such as Mo2CTx, V2CTx, Ti3CNTx, Nb4C3Tx and Mo2TiC2Tx, which allows the creation of metal/MXene composites with versatile and customizable nanostructures for a wide range of applications.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Buy this article
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Data supporting the findings of this study are available in the article and its Supplementary Information. Source data are provided with this paper.
Dai, Y. et al. Broadband plasmon-enhanced four-wave mixing in monolayer MoS2. Nano Lett. 21, 6321–6327 (2021).
Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
Li, Y. et al. Superior plasmonic photodetectors based on Au@MoS2 core–shell heterostructures. ACS Nano 11, 10321–10329 (2017).
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Park, C. et al. Confinement of ultrasmall bimetallic nanoparticles in conductive metal–organic frameworks via site-specific nucleation. Adv. Mater. 33, 2101216 (2021).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Cho, C. et al. Strain-resilient electrical functionality in thin-film metal electrodes using two-dimensional interlayers. Nat. Electron. 4, 126–133 (2021).
Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
Zavala, L. A. et al. Direct evidence of the role of Co or Pt, Co single-atom promoters on the performance of MoS2 nanoclusters for the hydrogen evolution reaction. ACS Catal. 13, 1221–1229 (2023).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Shi, Z., Ge, Y., Yun, Q. & Zhang, H. Two-dimensional nanomaterial-templated composites. Acc. Chem. Res. 55, 3581–3593 (2022).
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Sun, Y. et al. Interface-mediated noble metal deposition on transition metal dichalcogenide nanostructures. Nat. Chem. 12, 284–293 (2020).
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Li, Z. et al. Reactive metal–support interactions at moderate temperature in two-dimensional niobium-carbide-supported platinum catalysts. Nat. Catal. 1, 349–355 (2018).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Wang, M. et al. Site-specified two-dimensional heterojunction of Pt nanoparticles/metal–organic frameworks for enhanced hydrogen evolution. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 143, 16512–16518 (2021).
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Wei, Z. et al. Tripodal Pd metallenes mediated by Nb2C MXenes for boosting alkynes semihydrogenation. Nat. Commun. 14, 661 (2023).
Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
Feng, R. et al. Epitaxial ultrathin Pt atomic layers on CrN nanoparticle catalysts. Adv. Mater. 36, 2309251 (2024).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Tan, J., Li, S., Liu, B. & Cheng, H.-M. Structure, preparation, and applications of 2D material-based metal-semiconductor heterostructures. Small Struct. 2, 2000093 (2021).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Sun, Y. et al. Enhancing hydrogen evolution reaction activity of palladium catalyst by immobilization on MXene nanosheets. ACS Nano 18, 6243–6255 (2024).
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Li, X. et al. Controllable sulfurization of MXenes to in-plane multi-heterostructures for efficient sulfur redox kinetics. Adv. Energy Mater. 14, 2303389 (2024).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Zhao, Y. et al. Engineering strategies and active site identification of MXene-based catalysts for electrochemical conversion reactions. Chem. Soc. Rev. 52, 3215–3264 (2023).
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Li, X. et al. MXene chemistry, electrochemistry and energy storage applications. Nat. Rev. Chem. 6, 389–404 (2022).
Article PubMed Google Scholar
Dey, A. et al. Doped MXenes—a new paradigm in 2D systems: synthesis, properties and applications. Prog. Mater Sci. 139, 101166 (2023).
Article CAS Google Scholar
VahidMohammadi, A., Rosen, J. & Gogotsi, Y. The world of two-dimensional carbides and nitrides (MXenes). Science 372, 1581 (2021).
Article Google Scholar
Lim, K. R. G. et al. Fundamentals of MXene synthesis. Nat. Syn. 1, 601–614 (2022).
Article Google Scholar
Sikdar, A. et al. Hierarchically porous 3D freestanding holey-MXene framework via mild oxidation of self-assembled MXene hydrogel for ultrafast pseudocapacitive energy storage. ACS Nano 18, 3707–3719 (2024).
Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
Lan, L., Jiang, C., Yao, Y., Ping, J. & Ying, Y. A stretchable and conductive fiber for multifunctional sensing and energy harvesting. Nano Energy 84, 105954 (2021).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Xi, X. et al. Preparation of Au/Pt/Ti3C2Cl2 nanoflakes with self-reducing method for colorimetric detection of glutathione and intracellular sensing of hydrogen peroxide. Carbon 197, 476–484 (2022).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Zhu, J. et al. Ultrahigh stable methanol oxidation enabled by a high hydroxyl concentration on Pt clusters/MXene interfaces. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 144, 15529–15538 (2022).
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Park, S. et al. Reducing the high hydrogen binding strength of vanadium carbide MXene with atomic Pt confinement for high activity toward HER. Appl. Catal. B 304, 120989 (2022).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Zhang, J. et al. Single platinum atoms immobilized on an MXene as an efficient catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction. Nat. Catal. 1, 985–992 (2018).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Li, Z., Huang, W., Liu, J., Lv, K. & Li, Q. Embedding CdS@Au into ultrathin Ti3–xC2Ty to build dual schottky barriers for photocatalytic H2 production. ACS Catal. 11, 8510–8520 (2021).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Zhao, D. et al. MXene (Ti3C2) vacancy-confined single-atom catalyst for efficient functionalization of CO2. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 141, 4086–4093 (2019).
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Peng, W. et al. Spontaneous atomic ruthenium doping in Mo2CTx MXene defects enhances electrocatalytic activity for the nitrogen reduction reaction. Adv. Energy Mater. 10, e2001364 (2020).
Article Google Scholar
Satheeshkumar, E. et al. One-step solution processing of Ag, Au and Pd@MXene hybrids for SERS. Sci. Rep. 6, 32049 (2016).
Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
Pandey, R. P. et al. Ultrahigh-flux and fouling-resistant membrane based on layered silver/MXene(Ti3C2Tx) nanosheets. J. Mater. Chem. A 6, 3522–3533 (2018).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Zhou, S. et al. Vacancy-rich MXene-immobilized Ni single atoms as a high-performance electrocatalyst for the hydrazine oxidation reaction. Adv. Mater. 34, e2204388 (2022).
Article PubMed Google Scholar
Xin, W. et al. Lightweight and flexible MXene/CNF/silver composite membranes with a brick-like structure and high-performance electromagnetic-interference shielding. RSC Adv. 9, 29636–29644 (2019).
Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
Ghidiu, M., Lukatskaya, M. R., Zhao, M.-Q., Gogotsi, Y. & Barsoum, M. W. Conductive two-dimensional titanium carbide ‘clay’ with high volumetric capacitance. Nature 516, 78–81 (2014).
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Shahzad, F. et al. Electromagnetic interference shielding with 2D transition metal carbides (MXenes). Science 353, 1137–1140 (2016).
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Liu, Y.-T. et al. Self-assembly of transition metal oxide nanostructures on MXene nanosheets for fast and stable lithium storage. Adv. Mater. 30, 1707334 (2018).
Article Google Scholar
Zhang, Q. et al. Synergistic photocatalytic-photothermal contribution enhanced by recovered Ag+ ions on MXene membrane for organic pollutant removal. Appl. Catal. B 320, 122009 (2023).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Wang, Y. et al. Titanium carbide MXenes mediated in situ reduction allows label-free and visualized nanoplasmonic sensing of silver ions. Anal. Chem. 92, 4623–4629 (2020).
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Natu, V. et al. 2D Ti3C2Tz MXene synthesized by water-free etching of Ti3AlC2 in polar organic solvents. Chem 6, 616–630 (2020).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Song, X. et al. Oligolayered Ti3C2Tx MXene towards high performance lithium/sodium storage. Nano Res. 13, 1659–1667 (2020).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Shekhirev, M. et al. Ultralarge flakes of Ti3C2Tx MXene via soft delamination. ACS Nano 16, 13695–13703 (2022).
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Bao, H. et al. Isolated copper single sites for high-performance electroreduction of carbon monoxide to multicarbon products. Nat. Commun. 12, 238 (2021).
Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
Finzel, J. et al. Limits of detection for EXAFS characterization of heterogeneous single-atom catalysts. ACS Catal. 13, 6462–6473 (2023).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Zhang, Q. et al. Synthesis of large-area MXenes with high yields through power-focused delamination utilizing vortex kinetic energy. Adv. Sci. 9, e2202748 (2022).
Article Google Scholar
Soomro, R. A., Zhang, P., Fan, B., Wei, Y. & Xu, B. Progression in the oxidation stability of MXenes. Nanomicro Lett 15, 108 (2023).
CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
Cao, F. et al. Recent advances in oxidation stable chemistry of 2D MXenes. Adv. Mater. 34, 2107554 (2022).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Jiang, B. et al. Surface lattice engineering for fine-tuned spatial configuration of nanocrystals. Nat. Commun. 12, 5661 (2021).
Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
Natu, V., Sokol, M., Verger, L. & Barsoum, M. W. Effect of edge charges on stability and aggregation of Ti3C2Tz MXene colloidal suspensions. J. Phys. Chem. C 122, 27745–27753 (2018).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Natu, V. et al. Edge capping of 2D-MXene sheets with polyanionic salts to mitigate oxidation in aqueous colloidal suspensions. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 58, 12655–12660 (2019).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Jung, Y. et al. Nitrogen-doped titanium carbide (Ti3C2Tx) MXene nanosheet stack for long-term stability and efficacy in Au and Ag recovery. Small 19, 2305247 (2023).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Lon, A., Porter, J., Choi, H. C., Ribbe, A. E. & Buriak, J. M. Controlled electroless deposition of noble metal nanoparticle films on germanium surfaces. Nano Lett. 2, 1067–1071 (2002).
Article Google Scholar
Li, Y. et al. A general Lewis acidic etching route for preparing MXenes with enhanced electrochemical performance in non-aqueous electrolyte. Nat. Mater. 19, 894–899 (2020).
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Li, T. et al. Fluorine-free synthesis of high-purity Ti3C2Tx (T = OH, O) via alkali treatment. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 57, 6115–6119 (2018).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Download references
Q.Z. acknowledges support from Institute of Inorganic Membrane Science and Engineering (Shandong University of Technology) and Natural Science Foundation in Shandong Province (ZR2023QB007 and ZR2022QB147) and the Youth Innovation Team of Colleges and Universities in Shandong Province (2023KJ147). H.L. acknowledges support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52371140, 21972093 and 21974027), Shanghai Frontiers Science Centre of Biomimetic Catalysis and the Shanghai Engineering Research Centre of Green Energy Chemical Engineering. J.-a.W. acknowledges support from the Welch Foundation (F-1841) Texas Advanced Computing Centre and the Perlmutter at the National Energy Scientific Research Center. C. Zhang acknowledges support from the Program for Eastern Young Scholars in Shanghai and Shanghai Class IV Peak Disciplinary Development Program.
These authors contributed equally: Qingxiao Zhang, Jia-ao Wang, Qinghua Yu, Qizhen Li.
Key Laboratory of Resource Chemistry of Ministry of Education, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Functional Materials, and Department of Chemistry, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
Qingxiao Zhang, Runze Fan, Chong Li, Weihua Cheng, Peiyi Ji, Jie Sheng, Chenhao Zhang & Hui Li
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo, China
Qingxiao Zhang, Qinghua Yu, Yiyi Fan & Cong Zhao
Department of Chemistry and the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
Jia-ao Wang & Graeme Henkelman
School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Qizhen Li
Department of Chemistry and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Catalysis and Innovative Materials, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Songhai Xie
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
H.L. conceived and supervised the research. Q.Z., Q.Y., C. Zhang and H.L. wrote and revised the paper. Q.Z., Q.Y., Y.F. and C. Zhang designed the experiments. Q.Z., Q.L. and S.X. performed most of the experiments and data analysis. Q.Z., Q.Y., C. Zhang and H.L. discussed and proposed the mechanism. J.-a.W. and Q.L. performed the theoretical calculations. Q.Z., J.-a.W., Q.Y., Q.L., R.F., C.L., Y.F., C. Zhao, W.C., P.J., J.S., C. Zhang, S.X., G.H. and H.L. participated in experiments and discusions. All authors discussed the results and commented on the paper.
Correspondence to Hui Li.
The authors declare no competing interests.
Nature Synthesis thanks Khaled A. Mahmoud and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Primary Handling Editor: Alexandra Groves, in collaboration with the Nature Synthesis team.
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary experimental details, Discussion, Figs. 1–81, Tables 1–12 and References.
Source data for Fig. 1.
Source data for Fig. 2.
Source data for Fig. 3.
Source data for Fig. 4.
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
Reprints and permissions
Zhang, Q., Wang, Ja., Yu, Q. et al. Metal/MXene composites via in situ reduction. Nat. Synth (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44160-024-00660-z
Download citation
Received: 22 August 2023
Accepted: 06 September 2024
Published: 04 October 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44160-024-00660-z
Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:
Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.
Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative