Electromagnetic Behavior of in-situ Synthesized MXene-based Ti3C2/TiO2 Composites

The present work, set out with the aim of studying the effect of in-situ precipitation of TiO2 form Ti3C2Tx MXene phase on the electromagnetic (EM) behavior of Ti3C2/TiO2 composites. In this regard, Ti3C2Tx MXene phase was synthesized using HF acidic etching of Ti3AlC2 MAX phase and the in-situ precipitation of TiO2 phase within Ti3C2 sheets was followed by controlled annealing in temperature range of 500-800 oC for 2 h. The phase and structural characteristics of prepared composites were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and differential thermal analysis. The electromagnetic behavior of samples was also analyzed using vector network analyzer (VNA). The results showed that by performing the controlled annealing process of Ti3C2Tx MXene phase, it is possible to in-situ formation of TiO2 phase and form the Ti3C2/TiO2 composites. The electromagnetic behavior of Ti3C2/TiO2 composites is in direct relation with the percentage of TiO2 phase deposited within Ti3C2 sheets during annealing process. The reflection loss (RL) changed from -7.98 to -21.28 dB (within frequency range of 1-18 GHz) with increasing in annealing temperature from 500 to 800 oC as well as increasing the size and percentage of formed TiO2 particles.