Discover Top Posts Tagged with #titanium carbide

MXene-based e-tattoos harvest energy and monitor health in real time

Researchers at Boise State University have developed a breakthrough in wearable electronics: a multifunctional electronic tattoo (e‑tattoo) that integrates energy harvesting, energy storage, and real‑time biometric sensing into a single, skin‑conformal platform. The innovation leverages electrospun poly(vinyl butyral‑co‑vinyl alcohol‑co‑vinyl acetate) (PVBVA) fibers coated with titanium carbide (Ti₃C₂Tₓ) MXenes, offering a scalable, biocompatible, and durable alternative to conventional wearable devices that often rely on rigid substrates or external gels. The work is published in the journal Advanced Science.

MXenes gain improved conductivity and flexibility through precise plasma etching process

Haozhe "Harry" Wang, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering (ECE) at Duke University and an expert in developing new methods for manufacturing materials, continues to push the boundaries in MXene research. New quantitative analysis from the Wang lab published in Matter found that the plasma-ALE process improves MXene conductivity by 80% and bends up to 165 degrees, which outperforms similar 2D materials. MXenes are a novel 2D class of metallic materials boasting high electrical conductivity and strong photothermal capabilities, meaning they can convert light to heat. That heat makes water evaporate, which allows the MXene to shrink, curl, bend or twist when exposed to light.

Closing the gaps—MXene-coated air filters show enhanced performance and reusability

Despite improvements to air filtration technology in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the smallest particles—those of automobile and factory emissions—can still make their way through less efficient, but common filters. An interdisciplinary team of researchers from Drexel University's College of Engineering have introduced a new way to improve textile-based filters by coating them with a type of two-dimensional nanomaterial called MXene. Recently published in the journal C—Journal of Carbon Research, the team's research reports that a non-woven polyester textile—a low-cost material with low filtration efficiency—coated with a thin layer of MXene nanomaterial can turn it into a potent filter capable of pulling some of the finest nanoparticles from the air. "It can be challenging for common filters to contend with particles less than 100 nanometers, which include those emitted by industrial processes and automobiles," said Michael Waring, Ph.D., a professor in Drexel's College of Engineering, and co-author of the research. "Being able to augment a filter, through a simple coating process, to make it effective against these emissions is a significant development."

First 3D visualization of an aluminum nanocomposite for the auto industry

Manufacturing cars with strong, lightweight aluminum alloys rather than steel could improve fuel efficiency and extend electric vehicle range, but the material's instability at high temperatures has held the alloys back from widespread adoption. Creating tiny, reinforcing particles of titanium carbide (TiC) directly inside of molten aluminum results in a stronger, more temperature resistant aluminum-based material called a metal matrix nanocomposite. Up to this point, researchers have not understood how these nanoparticles form, or how they interact with other features in the microstructure, hindering production of the material on an industrial scale.

Ceramics: Titanium carbide

A well-known material, titanium carbide is a refractory ceramic, extremely hard and capable of withstanding high temperatures, among many other advantageous properties. A binary compound, it is the only carbide in the titanium-carbon system. It’s composition is equal parts titanium and carbon by atomic percent (crystal structure shown above, with the atoms not to scale) but by weight percent the material is around 80% titanium. The crystal structure is face centered cubic, and the Mohs hardness of the material is between 9-9.5.

Titanium carbide can be synthesized in a number of ways, including the reduction of carbon black with titanium oxide, direct carbonization of titanium powder, chemical vapor deposition, the blast impact method (mixing titanium dioxide powder and carbon powder), and ball milling, among other techniques. It does occur in nature, but only rarely, in the form of the mineral khamrabaevite.

Applications of this ceramic rely mainly on the first two properties mentioned: its hardness, and its temperature resistance. Its addition to cutting tools takes advantage of the former, while its addition to crucibles takes advantage of the latter. In addition to these uses, titanium carbide is also used in cermets (composites made of ceramics and metals), as abrasion resistant coatings on tools, and as heat shield coatings in spacecraft.

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A team of researchers might have found just the right material to efficiently remove mercury -- even at low levels -- from contaminated bodies of water.

Researchers estimate that mercury emissions in the atmosphere have quadrupled since the Industrial Revolution. The heavy metal, generated by burning fossil fuels and the disposal of industrial and medical waste, has become so persistent in aquatic environments that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggests about a half dozen species of fish are so mercury- contaminated that people should avoid consuming them. Researchers have been working for many years to develop systems for removing mercury from water. But a team at Drexel University might have found just the right material to efficiently catch the evasive quicksilver -- even at low levels -- and clean up contaminated bodies of water.

Among many methods of removing mercury from water, adsorption -- the process of chemically attracting and removing contaminants -- is the most promising technology due to its relative simplicity, efficiency and low cost, according to Drexel College of Engineering Professor Masoud Soroush, PhD, whose lab is developing a new adsorption technology.

"Modern adsorbents, such as resins, mesoporous silica, chalcogenides, and mesoporous carbons, have higher efficiencies than traditional adsorbents, such as activated carbon, clays, and zeolites that have low affinity toward mercury and low capacities," Soroush said. "However, the problem with all these materials, is that their mercury-removal efficiencies are still low, and they are unable to lower mercury level to less than 1 part per billion."

High-Speed Ionic Synaptic Memory: Simulating Brain Synapses in Computers With 2D Materials

Researchers from KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stanford University have fabricated a material for computer components that enable the commercial viability of computers that mimic the human brain.

Electrochemical random access (ECRAM) memory components made with 2D titanium carbide showed outstanding potential for complementing classical transistor technology, and contributing toward commercialization of powerful computers that are modeled after the brain’s neural network. Such neuromorphic computers can be thousands times more energy efficient than today’s computers.

These advances in computing are possible because of some fundamental differences from the classic computing architecture in use today, and the ECRAM, a component that acts as a sort of synaptic cell in an artificial neural network, says KTH Associate Professor Max Hamedi.

“Instead of transistors that are either on or off, and the need for information to be carried back and forth between the processor and memory—these new computers rely on components that can have multiple states, and perform in-memory computation,” Hamedi says.

Nanomaterial acts as a molecular thermometer

A layered material developed by KAUST researchers can act as a precise temperature sensor by exploiting the same principle used in biological ion channels.

Human cells possess various proteins that act as channels for charged ions. In the skin, certain ion channels rely on heat to drive a flow of ions that generates electrical signals, which we use to sense the temperature of our surroundings.

Inspired by these biological sensors, KAUST researchers prepared a titanium carbide compound (Ti3C2Tx) known as an MXene, which contains multiple layers just a few atoms thick. Each layer is covered with negatively charged atoms, such as oxygen or fluorine. "These groups act as spacers to keep neighboring nanosheets apart, allowing water molecules to enter the interplanar channels," says KAUST postdoc Seunghyun Hong, part of the team behind the new temperature sensor. The channels between the MXene layers are narrower than a single nanometer.

A team of researchers might have found just the right material to efficiently remove mercury -- even at low levels -- from contaminated bodies of water.

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