Abstract
After the colloidal proton acid treatment, the preparation of titanium carbide Ti3C2Tx was achieved. In addition, the single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) was used as reinforcement to improve the mechanical properties of proton acid treated titanium carbide (H-MXene): the tensile property is enhanced by nearly 400% while the electromagnetic shielding performance is retained. This study demonstrates that the H-MXene and carbon nanotube have great potential in electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding composite materials with excellent mechanical properties.
Keywords
The proliferation of new generation electronic device leads to the increasing electromagnetic (EM) radiation pollution. Exposure to electromagnetic interference (EMI) can cause negative effects in various fields, including the medicine, military, and navigatio
Recently, a 2D transition metal with carbide and/or nitride, namely MXene (Mn+1Xnene, n=1‒3; M stands for transition metal; X is carbon and/or nitrogen; ene stands for graphene), gradually becomes one of the most applicable EMI composite materials. Besides, MXT (Mn+1XnTx, n=1‒3; T represents a terminating group) materia
Ti3C2Tx material possesses extraordinary electrical conduc-tivit
Proton acid treatment can remove the intercalant, such as L
Although the proton acid treatment improves the electrical property of Ti3C2Tx material, its mechanical property and flexibility still need enhancement. According to Ref. [
Ti3AlC2 (0.038 μm, AR, 99%, Ningbo Jinlei Nano Material Technology Co., Ltd), high-purity SWCNT powder (95%, Chengdu Organic Chemicals Co., Ltd), lithium fluoride (LiF, AR, 99%, Shanghai Macklin Biochemical Co., Ltd), hydrochloric acid (9 mol/L, Tianjin Fengchuan Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd) were used in this research.
Vacuum-assisted filtration (180 W, water-circulation multifunction vacuum pump, Shanghai Jinfu Experimental Equipment Co., Ltd), cellulose separator membrane (pore size of 0.22 μm, Shanghai Xinya Purification Equipment Co., Ltd), scanning electron microscope (SEM, Zeiss Gemini SEM500/300), and X-ray diffractometer (XRD, DX-2700BH, Haoyuan Instrument Co., Ltd) were used in this research. Tensile tests were conducted with the Instron material testing system (XM-DZSC001).
MXene of Ti3C2Tx material was prepared by selective etch-ing of the Ti3AlC2 precursor, as shown in

Fig.1 Schematic diagrams of preparation process of SWCNT/MXene and SWCNT/H-MXene materials
During vigorous stirring, 6 mol/L HCl was added dropwise into the delaminated MXene suspension until pH=1 for the proton acid treatment. Then obvious coagulation in the solution could be observed. The solution was placed in centrifuge at 5000 r/min, and the upper liquid was abandoned (Step III and Step IV). Repeat this process for several times until pH=6 and the proton acid-treated MXene, namely H-MXene material, was prepared. The degree of solute coagulation in the solution was gradually decreased with increasing the pH value.
SWCNT powder (0.5 g) was put into a grinder. Extract 2 mL triton solution, inject it into the SWCNT powder uniformly, and then grind them clockwise for 40 min. The deionized water was used to wash the grinder and the grinding rod, and the used water was separately collected in the large beakers. The used water was stirred for 2.5 h with stirring head in the middle position of the used water. Then the solution was ultrasonically cleaned with the ultrasonic probe inserted into the solution. The ultrasonic wave was released every 1 s and last for 1 s. The whole process lasted for 60 min.
SWCNT of different contents was added into MXene and H-MXene materials to prepare SWCNT/MXene and SWCNT/
Significant MXene coagulation can be observed in the solution during the proton acid treatment with low pH values. This phenomenon is attributed to the charge screening effect of cation
According to Ref.[

Fig.2 XRD patterns of MXene and H-MXene materials
The surface of proton acid-treated Ti3C2Tx material, i.e., H-MXene material, shows more undulation and folds than the MXene material does, implying that the self-assembly of Ti3C2Tx nanosheets during proton acid process results in the formation of larger aggregates. According to

Fig.3 SEM cross-sectional morphologies of MXene (a), H-MXene (b), SCM20 (c), and SCHM20 (d) materials
All SWCNT/MXene and SWCNT/H-MXene specimens were prepared via vacuum-assisted filtration and vacuum-dried at 60 °C for 2 h. The initial concentration of MXene material in suspension is 2.24 mg/mL and it changes to 1.05 mg/mL after introduction of 0.1 mol/L

Fig.4 Appearances of MXene (a) and SCHM5 (b) materials
EMI shielding performance tests of X-band (8.20‒12.4 GHz) were conducted for SWCNT/MXene and SWCNT/ H-MXene materials with different ratios via vector network analyzer (PAN-L N5230C Agilent Technologies, waveguide). The specimens were sliced into a rectangular form of 22.9 mm×10.2 mm. The scattering parameters (S11, S12, and S21) of all specimens were recorded. The reflection (R), transmission (T), absorption (A), reflection shielding effectiveness (SER), absorption shielding effectiveness (SEA), and total EMI shielding effectiveness (SET) can be calculated by Eq.(1‒6), respectively:
R=|S11 | (1) |
T=|S12 | (2) |
R+A+T=1 | (3) |
(4) |
(5) |
SET=SEA+SER+SEM | (6) |
where SEM represents the multiple internal reflection of material (usually negligible when SET≥15 d

Fig.5 Total EMI shielding effectiveness of different materials
According to EM theory, with increasing the frequency, the EM radiation capacity is increased, and EM harassment tends to the far field area, resulting in the non-negligible negative effects on electric and magnetic field
SSE/t=SE/tb | (7) |
The absolute shielding effectiveness can directly reflect the material performance, which is calculated based on the normalization of SET with respect to density and thickness. High SSE/t values are crucial for the lightweight shielding materials.

Fig.6 EMI shielding effectiveness (X-band) of different materials

Fig.7 Absolute shielding effectiveness (SSE/t) and electrical conductivity (EC) of different materials
Type | Material | Absolute shielding effectiveness/dB·c | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Metal-based | Copper | 32.3 |
[ |
Al foil | 30 555 |
[ | |
CuNi-carbon nanotubes | 1 580 |
[ | |
Cu foil | 7 812 |
[ | |
Ag nanowire | 2 416 |
[ | |
Carbon-based | Carbon foam | 1 250 |
[ |
Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) | 692 |
[ | |
rGO/Fe3O4 | 1 033 |
[ | |
SWCNT/epoxy | 72 |
[ | |
MXene-based | Ti3C2Tx/carbon nanofibers | 2 647 |
[ |
Ti3C2Tx-sodium alginate | 30 830 |
[ | |
Ti3C2Tx-SWCNT | 49 336‒55 204 | - |

Fig.8 EMI shielding mechanism of MXene layer structure
The film specimens for stretch performance tests were prepared by vacuum-assisted filtration with the thickness of 8‒10 μm, gauge length of 5 mm, and width of 3 mm. Stress and strain were recorded at extension rate of 1 mm·mi

Fig.9 Tensile strength of different materials (a); schematic diagrams of tensile strength curve of MXene (b), H-MXene (c) and
SCHM3 (d) materials
The tensile-fracture process of MXene material can be divided into three stages: straightening, linear elasticity, and plastic deformatio
Material | Absolute shielding effectiveness/dB·c | Tensile strength/MPa | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Copper | 32.26 | 366.00 |
[ |
PEI/graphene | 166.54 | 5.50 |
[ |
Carbon fiber/PC film | 1 201.74 | 115.10 |
[ |
FSPF film | 1 2607.4 | 0.94 |
[ |
CEF-NF | 6 294.02 | 20.74 |
[ |
NCF | 30 039.42 | 11.21 |
[ |
MWCNT-NCF composite | 23 223.86 | 68.28 |
[ |
Stainless steel | 27.46 | 515.00 |
[ |
PI-rGO foam | 937.46 | 11.40 |
[ |
SCHM3 | 49 336 | 128.80 | - |
Note: PEI-poly(ethylene imine); PC-polycarbonate; FSPF-Fe3O4@SiO2@polypyrrole; CEF-carbon fiber or polypropylene/polyethylene core/sheath bicomponent fiber; NF-nonwoven fabric; MWCNT-multiwalled carbon nanotube; NCF-neat carbon fabric; PI-polyimide
1) Singe-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) as the reinforcement can effectively improve the tensile properties of transition metal with carbide and/or nitride (MXene) materials with slight influence on the absolute electromagnetic shielding performance.
2) MXene material after proton acid treatment (H-MXene) with the SWCNT addition (mass ratio of H-MXene to SWCNT is 3:1) has the absolute shielding effectiveness of
49 336 dB·c
3) The MXene materials show great potential in electromagnetic shielding composites, which should be further developed.
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