Chemical bonding in carbide MXene nanosheets

The chemical bonding in the carbide core and the surface chemistry in a new group of transition-metal carbides Tin+1Cn-Tx (n = 1,2) called MXenes have been investigated by surface-sensitive valence band X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Changes in band structures of stacked nano sheets of different thicknesses are analyzed in connection to known hybridization regions of TiC and TiO2 that affect elastic and transport properties. By employing high excitation energy, the photoelectron cross-section for the C 2s - Ti 3d hybridization region at the bottom of the valence band is enhanced. As shown in this work, the O 2p and F 2p bands strongly depend both on the bond lengths to the surface groups and the adsorption sites. The effect of surface oxidation and Ar+ sputtering on the electronic structure is also discussed.