The potential of Ti3C2TX nano-sheets (MXenes) for nanoscale solid lubrication revealed by friction force microscopy

[Display omitted] •Nanoscale frictional characteristics of Ti3C2TX nano-sheets are investigated.•Friction force microscopy reveals that Ti3C2TX nano-sheets are nanoscale solid lubricants.•Ti3C2TX nano-sheets are somewhat inferior nanoscale solid lubricants when compared with graphene and MoS2.•Friction force increases in a non-trivial fashion with applied load. Ti3C2TX nano-sheets (MXenes) are an emerging class of two-dimensional materials with outstanding potential to be employed in energy storage, catalysis, and triboelectric applications, on length scales ranging from the nano- to macroscopic. Despite rapidly accelerating interest in this new class of materials, their nanoscale frictional properties and in particular, their potential for solid lubrication on the nanoscale, have not been explored in detail yet. In this short communication, we present the first results on the nanoscale frictional characteristics of MXenes, in the form of a friction map obtained on an isolated Ti3C2Tx nano-sheet deposited on a silicon dioxide substrate via friction force microscopy. Our experiments reveal that few-layer Ti3C2Tx nano-sheets indeed act as solid lubricants on the nanoscale, reducing friction on the silicon dioxide substrates, although not as effectively as few-layer graphene. The results reported here pave the way for further studies focusing on nanoscale solid lubrication achieved by Ti3C2TX (MXene) nano-sheets.