MXene‐Polymer Hybrid for High‐Performance Gas Sensor Prepared by Microwave‐Assisted In‐Situ Intercalation

Abstract

Abstract 2D transition‐metal carbides (Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene) intercalated with organic molecules have been widely used in batteries and supercapacitors, but are quite rarely reported for gas sensing. Since Ti 3 C 2 T x is sensitive to oxygen, most methods for preparing the intercalated Ti 3 C 2 T x involve stirring the reactants with Ti 3 C 2 T x for several hours under nitrogen protection. Herein, a method to prepare a hybrid of Ti 3 C 2 T x and intercalated polysquaraine through microwave‐assisted in situ polymerization that takes only a few minutes without the need of using a protective atmosphere is demonstrated. Owing to the increased interlayer space of the Ti 3 C 2 T x after the polymerization, the gas sensors based on the hybrid exhibit a good sensing performance for NH 3 detection, being able to detect at least 500 ppb NH 3 with a 2.2% ppm −1 of sensitivity. This study provides a facile preparation method for developing intercalated MXenes, which are expected to be useful for a wide range of applications.