Preparation and Dye Degradation Performances of Self-Assembled MXene-Co3O4 Nanocomposites Synthesized via Solvothermal Approach

Shanshan Luo; Ran Wang; Juanjuan Yin; Tifeng Jiao; Kaiyue Chen; Guodong Zou; Lun Zhang; Jingxin Zhou; Lexin Zhang; Qiuming Peng

doi:10.1021/acsomega.9b00231

Preparation and Dye Degradation Performances of Self-Assembled MXene-Co₃O₄ Nanocomposites Synthesized via Solvothermal Approach

ACS Omega. 2019 Feb 21;4(2):3946-3953. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.9b00231. eCollection 2019 Feb 28.

Authors

Affiliation

¹ State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology and Hebei Key Laboratory of Applied Chemistry, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Yanshan University, 438 West Hebei Street, Qinhuangdao 066004, China.

Abstract

Two-dimensional metal carbides or nitrides (MXenes) demonstrated wide applications in energy storage, water treatment, electromagnetic shielding, gas/biosensing, and photoelectrochemical catalysis due to their higher specific surface area and excellent conductivity. They also have the advantages of flexible and adjustable components and controllable minimum nanolayer thickness. In this study, a cube-like Co₃O₄ particle-modified self-assembled MXene (Ti₃C₂) nanocomposite has been prepared successfully by a simple solvothermal method. The Co₃O₄ particles are well dispersed on the surface and inner layers of the Ti₃C₂ sheets, which effectively prevent the restacking of Ti₃C₂ sheets and form an organized composite structure. The physical properties of these nanocomposites were studied by using XRD, SEM, EDX, TEM, and XPS. The performance of the obtained samples was evaluated as new nanocatalysts for degrading methylene blue and Rhodamine B in batch model experiments. The prepared Mxene-Co₃O₄ nanocomposites can be well regenerated and reused for eight consecutive cycles, indicating potential wide applications in wastewater treatment and composite materials.