Research Projects

MXenes have been at the forefront of material research in the past decade and the family of MXene is expanding day by day with the discovery of new members with alluring properties.1Though MXene has shown potential for sensor applications, however, to date, more than 70% of all MXene research is focused on the first discovered MXene, Ti3C2Tx. 2The other family members next to Ti3C2Tx, i.e. Nb2CTx and V2CTx have shown excellence in energy storage, however, the fundamental electrochemistry of these representative members is less understood. It is seen that the Ti3C2Tx renders surface oxidation, which is highly pH dependent and substantially narrows down the working potential window and prevents sensing analytes whose redox potentials are typically beyond it.3,4 This generates an insightful question: Does irreversible oxidation also occur for Nb2CTx and V2CTx MXenes? If yes, does the fundamental electrochemistry of Nb2CTx and V2CTx MXene depend on intrinsic parameters such as layer thickness, surface functional groups, and flake size? Specifically, what is the electrochemical potential window for these MXenes? Also, can we prevent the MXene oxidation by attaching catalyst particles? If yes, then can the catalyst-functionalized MXenes be used as a platform for sensing analytes of biological importance? These perceptive questions stimulate a systematic investigation to understand and uncover the fundamental electrochemistry of these newly invented Nb2CTx and V2CTx MXenes, making them viable for electrochemical measurements and implementing these for sensing bioanalytes. Considering the rapidly growing interest in MXenes, the viability of ultrathin MXene layers, and the demand for the development of advanced materials for Biosensors, the proposed project is the state-of-the-art synergistic interplay between MXenes and Biosensing. The proposed project will shed light on the intrinsic electrochemical properties of Nb2CTx and V2CTx MXenes and their dependence on intrinsic parameters. Specifically, it is very interesting to learn how controlling experimental conditions prevents possible oxidations in Nb2CTx and V2CTx MXenes and simultaneously improves their viability as an advanced sensing material for fabricating Biosensors. The MXene family is expanding day by day with the discovery of new members. It is timely to have a systematic investigation on preventing innate surface oxidation of Nb2CTx and V2CTx by surface functionalization, understanding the innate electrochemistry, and their feasibility for the electrochemical sensor. This will certainly uncover many inherent electrochemical properties of these newly developed 2D materials and the fabricated sensor may outperform the existing sensor technology. Ref.: 1. Gogotsi et al. Graphene and 2D Materials, 2022, 75-79. 2. Naguib et al.J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 15966−15969. 3. Nayak et al. Appl. Mater. Today, 2022, 26, 101335. 4. Nayak et al. Nanoscale, 10, 2018, 17030.