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A generalized and scalable self-assembly method of 2D carbides to metal powders

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Abstract

Nanomaterial reinforced metal matrix composites can serve to enable multifunctional nanocomposites. Particularly, 2D materials, with their high aspect ratio and ideal mechanical and electrical properties, promise to enable multifunctional composites beyond typical ceramic or carbon reinforcement materials. However, creating a homogenous distribution of the reinforcement nanomaterial in the matrix is challenging. Additionally, it is noted that the mixed metal nanocomposite powders still are not entirely ready for additive manufacturing, due to a lack of ideal morphology control, controllable additive contents, and scalability. In this work, we present the solution-based electrostatic self-assembly of negatively charged 2D carbides (MXenes) to positively charged metal powders using acidic protonation of metal powders. Further, we demonstrate the tunable conformal wrapping of 2D Ti3C2Tx MXene on the metal powders, the generalizability of this approach to multiple metal compositions, stainless steel, Ti, Nb, and Al powders, and the scalability of this method.

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Data availability

The authors declare that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the paper and its Supplementary Information files. Should any raw data files be needed in another format they are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgments

J.P. would like to thank the UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program) and NEIL (Navy Engineering Innovation & Leadership) programs at IUPUI (Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis) for supporting this research. B.C.W. would like to thank the National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship program for the support of his PhD studies. The authors acknowledge Millipore Sigma for partially funding this research. S. K. N. and B. A. thank the Office of Naval Research (ONR) for partially funding this research under award number N00014-21-1-2799.

Funding

The authors would like to thank Millipore Sigma for their partial funding of this research. S. K. N. and B. A. were supported by the Office of Naval Research under award number N00014-21-1-2799.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical & Energy Engineering and Integrated Nanosystems Development Institute, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA

    Jacob Patenaude, Brian C. Wyatt, Srinivasa Kartik Nemani & Babak Anasori

  2. School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 46907, USA

    Babak Anasori

  3. School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 46907, USA

    Babak Anasori

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  1. Jacob Patenaude
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  2. Brian C. Wyatt
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  3. Srinivasa Kartik Nemani
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  4. Babak Anasori
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Contributions

J.P. conducted the experiment, analysis, and contributed in writing the manuscript. B. C. W. and B. A. conceptualized the work and oversaw the experimental design and results. B. C. W. contributed in writing the manuscript and B. A. oversaw the full writing process. S. K. N. contributed in conceptualizing the work and overseeing its experimental design and results. All authors edited and approved of the final draft.

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Correspondence to Babak Anasori.

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Patenaude, J., Wyatt, B.C., Nemani, S.K. et al. A generalized and scalable self-assembly method of 2D carbides to metal powders. MRS Advances (2024). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43580-024-00854-9

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