Vapor phase processing as a strategy towards MXenes formation

MXenes are a family of two-dimensional materials composed of transition metal nitrides or carbides, known for their exceptional properties. However, the fabrication of nitride-based MXenes has posed challenges due to their lower stability in acidic solutions. This work presents a novel approach for the fabrication of nitride-based MXenes using vapor phase processing. The proposed method utilizes a system consisting of a multilayered TiN/Ga thin film grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The as-deposited samples exhibited a core-shell structure wherein the shell primarily consisted of cubic TiN and the core composed of TiGa 3 phase. At the interface between the two phases the presence of Ti 2 GaN was identified. Upon annealing the samples at 500–650 °C, most gallium atoms evaporated, leading to the formation of a Ti 2 N phase. The samples were investigated by means of SEM, HR-TEM, XRD, XPS. This vapor phase approach represents a significant advancement in the fabrication of nitride-based MXenes and opens new possibilities for their application in energy storage, plasmonics, and electrochemical capacitors.