FACILE FABRICATION OF TI3C2 MXENE NANOSHEETS AND THEIR PHOTOTHERMAL PROPERTIES

Abstract

Recently discovered two-dimensional (2D) transition metal carbides and nitrides (MXenes) have received tremendous attention because of their unique electrical, optical and chemical properties. These exceptional properties make them a suitable candidate for a variety of applications including multimodal tumor therapy by photothermal effect. In this work, we demonstrate how to reduce the size of 1-5 µm large Ti3C2 monolayer MXene sheets into ultrasmall 100-160 nm nanosheets by applying consecutive ultrasonication processes. Different microscopic techniques have been used to visualize the formation of ultrasmall single-layer Ti3C2 nanosheets. The as-prepared MXene nanosheets have shown good solubility in water and ethanol. Further, (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) and poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) were utilized for surface modification of the MXene nanosheets to open the possibility of subsequent antibody bio-conjugation. Moreover, PEDOT:PSS improved the photothermal conversion performance of the nanosheets as documented by increasing their temperature from 48.6 ºC to 58.1 ºC on irradiation by 808 nm wavelength laser. Further in vivo and in vitro studies will be necessary to optimize the photothermal properties of Ti3C2 nanosheets.