MXene‐Polymer Hybrid for High‐Performance Gas Sensor Prepared by Microwave‐Assisted In‐Situ Intercalation

Abstract 2D transition‐metal carbides (Ti₃C₂T_x MXene) intercalated with organic molecules have been widely used in batteries and supercapacitors, but are quite rarely reported for gas sensing. Since Ti₃C₂T_x is sensitive to oxygen, most methods for preparing the intercalated Ti₃C₂T_x involve stirring the reactants with Ti₃C₂T_x for several hours under nitrogen protection. Herein, a method to prepare a hybrid of Ti₃C₂T_x and intercalated polysquaraine through microwave‐assisted in situ polymerization that takes only a few minutes without the need of using a protective atmosphere is demonstrated. Owing to the increased interlayer space of the Ti₃C₂T_x after the polymerization, the gas sensors based on the hybrid exhibit a good sensing performance for NH₃ detection, being able to detect at least 500 ppb NH₃ with a 2.2% ppm⁻¹ of sensitivity. This study provides a facile preparation method for developing intercalated MXenes, which are expected to be useful for a wide range of applications.