Delamination and Engineered Interlayers of Ti₃C₂ MXenes using Phosphorous Vapor toward Flame-Retardant Epoxy Nanocomposites

As recently created inorganic nanosheet materials, more and more light has been shed on MXenes, which have emerged as a hotspot of intensive investigations. The simple exfoliation method for MXenes attracts numerous studies to pay efforts on. Compared with the extensive research about ultrasonication and mechanical milling, gas-assisted exfoliation has never been carried out for MXenes. Meanwhile, MXene-based nanocomposites are always prepared after exfoliation step by step. In this work, a facile way to fabricate a few-layered Ti3C2 MXene delaminated using phosphorous vapor evolved from commercial red phosphorous (RP) is put forward. The vapor deposits on the surface of Ti3C2 and also partially intercalates into the interlayers to obtain a novel two-dimensional RP/Ti3C2 nanocomposite directly. The P element strongly connects with the substrate by a covalent bond that improves the safety problems for RP during storage and usage. Due to the versatile feature of MXenes, the nanocomposite has the potential to be applied in a variety of fields. Herein, it is employed as a flame retardant for epoxide resin and effectively reduces fire disaster. The one-step exfoliation plus nanocomposite fabrication provides a more feasible way for the practical application of MXenes.