Multiresponsive 2D Ti₃C₂T_x MXene via Implanting Molecular Properties

Abstract

The design and fabrication of active nanomaterials exhibiting multifunctional properties is a must in the so-called global "Fourth Industrial Revolution". In this sense, molecular engineering is a powerful tool to implant original capabilities on a macroscopic scale. Herein, different bioinspired 2D-MXenes have been developed via a versatile and straightforward synthetic approach. As a proof of concept, Ti₃C₂T_x MXene has been exploited as a highly sensitive transducing platform for the covalent assembly of active biomolecular architectures (i.e., amino acids). All pivotal properties originated from the anchored targets were proved to be successfully transferred to the resulting bioinspired 2D-MXenes. Appealing applications have been devised for these 2D-MXene prototypes showing (i) chiroptical activity, (ii) fluorescence capabilities, (iii) supramolecular π-π interactions, and (iv) stimuli-responsive molecular switchability. Overall, this work demonstrates the fabrication of programmable 2D-MXenes, taking advantage of the inherent characteristics of the implanted (bio)molecular components. Thus, the current bottleneck in the field of 2D-MXenes can be overcome after the significant findings reported here.