Electrical properties of MXene thin films prepared from non-aqueous polar aprotic solvents

For sustainable energy technologies, MXenes offer unique properties such as high electrical conductivity, hydrophilicity, excellent thermal stability, large interlayer spacing, easily tunable structure, high surface area, and microporous structure that facilitate faster ion transfer. To address limitations of aqueous MXene suspension, Ti 3 C 2 -type MXene thin films are prepared from non-aqueous suspensions in N , N -dimethyl formamide (DMF) and N -methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) using solvent exchange method followed by spin coating or drop casting on gold interdigitated electrodes (IDE) and ceramic substrates and their electrical properties are compared. Electrical properties investigated by impedance spectroscopy (4 Hz to 8 MHz) and four-point probe (FPP) measurements show that DMF-MXene layers exhibit higher electrical conductivity than MXene deposited from NMP. The material technology and electrical properties of MXene thin films prepared from non-aqueous solvents may thus be promising for possible use of MXenes in hybrid photovoltaic devices as charge-transporting layers. Graphical abstract