A strategy for 2D MXenes as thermal management materials by laser shock nanoshaping

Abstract The two-dimensional (2D) titanium carbides (T{i}_n+1{C}_n) belong to the MXene family, with carbon and titanium alternating in a flake structure, and are emerging options for nanoelectronics applications. In this study, the feasibility of nanoshaping of 2D titanium carbides for tunable thermal management materials was investigated. 2D titanium carbides demonstrate high degrees of formability on nanoscale and efficiency as thermal management systems in nanoelectronics components. The thermal conductivity of various MXene 2D flakes was studied using molecular dynamics simulations. A robust thermal management behavior has been predicted for 2D MXenes after nanoshaping on various nanomold patterns, which will facilitate the development of MXene-based metamaterials for thermal management in electric nanocomponents. The size dependence analysis shows that the MXenes thermal conductivity is highly influenced by the flake size leading to a variation in experimental values due to scale factors. Our model showed that Ti₂C is more sensible to strain at both supported and suspended conditions, while the thicker MXenes are not too influenced by strain. When supported, the thermal conductivities of all simulated MXenes considerably decrease due to Z phonon modes suppression. Bending strain also showed an effect in the MXenes thermal conductivity by scattering phonon modes. This makes MXenes an attractive option for the management of thermal fields.