Pulsed Electrochemical Exfoliation as a Sustainable, HF-Free Approach to MXene Synthesis

Congratulations and thanks to our colleagues at TU Wien and CEST for their important contribution and successful publication!

In this study, a scalable electrochemical synthesis of MXenes is introduced. Using a pulsed electrochemical exfoliation method, the researchers achieved yields of up to 60% EC-MXene in a single cycle, without generating byproducts.

The work demonstrates a sustainable and non-toxic approach, replacing hazardous chemicals with a NaBF₄/HCl electrolyte and employing cathodic pulsing to boost efficiency. Hydrogen bubble formation helps restore electrochemical activity, enabling continuous and effective etching.

The resulting EC-MXenes show exceptional quality, verified through SEM/EDX, XPS, and, for the first time, LEIS analyses.

Structural and surface characteristics were further examined by AFM, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, and TEM.

This innovation in pulsed electrochemical synthesis represents a major step toward the industrial-scale and sustainable production of MXenes.