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2D materials

Contact person: Petra Ecorchard

The subject of study involves 2D structures, typically carbon-based materials prepared from various sources, primarily graphene and graphene oxide, and their functionalizations. Graphene and its analogues are mainly prepared through an exfoliation process in a batch reactor using high-power ultrasound (2 kW) and under high pressure (~5 bar). The development of 2D materials has expanded to include layered double hydroxides (LDH). In collaboration with the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IMC), the development of these materials has advanced to studying their interaction with ionic liquids (IL) and using this system in a polymer matrix. The study of 2D layered fillers focuses on modifying carbon materials, LDH, and layered double alkoxides (LDA). The selection of 2D fillers is tailored according to the properties desired in the final polymer material. This is also linked to the selection of IL, which is chosen based on the specific type of filler and the subsequent polymerization process. IL serves multiple functions in this system; it acts as an intercalation agent for these layered fillers and as a medium that facilitates both physical and chemical bonding. The LDH/LDA or those modified with IL are also studied for their potential use as heterogeneous catalysts for ring-opening polymerizations. Ionic liquids containing metals are studied as homogeneous catalysts for the same type of ring-opening polymerizations.

Fig. 1: SEM image of Zn-Al LDH annealed at 450 °C

Fig. 2: TEM image of carboxylated graphene oxide

Fig. 3: Scheme of three methods for preparing layered double hydroxides modified with an ionic liquid for testing as catalysts for ring-opening polymerization.

Contact person: Snejana Bakardjieva

Another area of 2D materials research is known as MXene. MXenes are a new group of transition metal carbides or nitrides, obtained by selective etching the elements from the corresponding MAX phases or by ion sputtering. This unconventional method uses the sputtering of individual phase elements with a low-energy rare gas beam prepared in an electrostatic accelerator. MXenes offer a wide range of chemical compositions compared to graphene, which is limited to carbon atoms. MXenes have many applications, including nanolaminates for nuclear and extreme environmental conditions, energy storage, and polymer nanocomposite fillers.

References

  1. O. Mrózek, L. Melounová, D. Smržová, A. Machálková, J. Vinklárek, Z. Němečková, B. Komárková, P. Ecorchard, Salt-washed graphene oxide and its cytotoxicity, J. Hazard. Mater., 398 (2020) 123114.
  2. P. Horak, S. Bakardjieva, J. Vacik, X. Ruic, R. Klie, Preparation of Ti2C MXene phase by ion beam sputtering and ion irradiation, Nuclear Inst. and Methods in Physics Research B, 468 (2020) 49-51.
  3. O. Mrózek, P. Ecorchard, P. Vomáčka, J. Ederer, D. Smržová, M. Šrámová Slušná, A. Machálková, M. Nevoralová, H. Beneš, Mg-Al-La LDH-MnFe2O4 hybrid material for facile removal of anionic dyes from aqueous solutions, Applied Clay Science, 169 (2019) 1–9.
  4. A. P. Godoy, P. Ecorchard, H. Beneš, J. Tolasz, D. Smržová, L. Seixas, J. J. Pedrotti, E. A.T. de Souza, O. A. El Seoud, R. K. Donato, Ultrasound exfoliation of graphite in biphasic liquid systems containing ionic liquids: a study on the conditions for obtaining large few-layers graphene, Ultrason. Sonochem., 55 (2019), 279-288.
  5. D. Schwarz, Y. Noda, J. Klouda, K. Schwarzová-Pecková, J. Tarábek, J. Rybáček, J. Janoušek, F. Simon, M. V. Opanasenko, J. Čejka, A. Acharjya, J. Schmidt, S. Selve, V. Reiter-Scherer, N. Severin, J. P. Rabe, P. Ecorchard, J. He, M. Polozij, P. Nachtigall, and M. J. Bojdys, Twinned Growth of Metal-Free, Triazine-Based Photocatalyst Films as Mixed-Dimensional (2D/3D) van der Waals Heterostructures, Adv. Mater., 29(40) (2017), 1703399 (1-9).
  6. H. Benes, M. Konefał, S. Bujok, O. Mrozek, E. Pavlova, D. Smrzova, P. Ecorchard, Intercalation of ionic liquid into LDH structure for microwave-accelerated polymerizations, Inorg. Chem., 62 (2023) 14694-14703.
  7. D. Smržová, M. Šrámová Slušná, J. Peter, H. Beneš, J. Tolasz, O. Pop Georgievski, M. Maříková, P. Ecorchard, The effects of formation and functionalization of graphene-based membranes on their gas and water vapor permeation properties, Heliyon, 9 (2023) e21417.
  8. H. Li Tan, K. Z. Donato, M. C. F. Costa, A. Carvalho, M. Trushin, P. Rou Ng, X. Hui Yau, G. K. W. Koon, J. Tolasz, Z. Němečková, P. Ecorchard, R. K. Donato, and A. H. Castro Neto, Fibrillation of Pristine 2D Materials by 2D-Confined Electrolytes, Adv. Funct. Mater., (2024) 2315038 (1-11).
  9. M. Rebei, C. Červinka A. Mahun, P. Ecorchard, J. Honzíček, S. Livi, R.K. Donato, H. Beneš, Fast carbon dioxide–epoxide cycloaddition catalyzed by metal and metal-free ionic liquids for designing non-isocyanate polyurethanes, Materials Advances, 2024, accepted.