Improving the adsorption performance of urea by using polyhydroxy groups to modify two-dimensional Ti3C2Tx

Wearable artificial kidney can provide continuous dynamic dialysis for uremia patients. For the sake of practical application, the critical step is to find an adsorbent that can effectively remove urea and have excellent biological compatibility. The layered Ti3C2Tx (DL-Ti3C2Tx) with high specific surface area and good dispersion was prepared by a two-step etching method. From the first principles calculation, urea can be adsorbed by different groups (−F, –O, –OH) on the surface of Ti3C2Tx, among which –OH has the greatest binding energy to urea. Therefore, DL-Ti3C2Tx was modified with different alkali solutions (KOH, NaOH, LiOH) to introduce –OH on the surface, which can increase the adsorption capacity of urea. The experimental results showed that DL-Ti3C2Tx (LiOH-Ti3C2Tx) after treated by LiOH had the highest urea adsorption efficiency, and the urea removal rate of LiOH-Ti3C2Tx was still higher than 92% when the urea concentration was 500 mg/L. In the Simulated dialysate, Ti3C2Tx treated with three kinds of alkali solutions still maintained a good adsorption efficiency for urea, and still had a certain adsorption capacity after recycling for four times. Biocompatibility experiments showed that Ti3C2Tx in different concentrations did not cause hemolysis of erythrocyte, and had no obvious damage to vascular endothelial cells. This study greatly improves the urea adsorption efficiency of MXene, which has a broad application prospect in the selection of adsorbent for wearable artificial kidney. [Display omitted] •By a two-step etching method, layered Ti3C2Tx (DL-Ti3C2Tx) with high specific surface area and good dispersion was prepared.•DL-Ti3C2Tx was modified with different alkali solutions (KOH, NaOH, LiOH) to introduce –OH on the surface, increasing the adsorption capacity of urea.•The alkalized Ti3C2Tx with excellent biocompatibility can efficiently adsorb urea, and maintain high stability in the simulated dialysate.