Prof. Yury Gogotsi, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, USA

Dr. Yury Gogotsi is Charles T. and Ruth M. Bach Professor, Distinguished University Professor and Trustee Chair of Materials Science and Engineering at Drexel University. He also serves as Director of the A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute. He received his MS (1984) and PhD (1986) from Kiev Polytechnic and a DSc degree from the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences in 1995. His research group works on nanostructured carbons, 2D carbides and other nanomaterials for energy, water and biomedical applications. He has co-authored 2 books, 16 book chapters, more than 500 papers in peer-reviewed journals, edited 14 books, and obtained more than 50 patents. He was recognized as Highly Cited Researcher by Thomson-Reuters/Clarivate Analytics in 2014-2017 (h-index exceeding 100).
He has received numerous awards for his research including the European Carbon Association Award, S. Somiya Award from the International Union of Materials Research Societies, Nano Energy award from Elsevier, International Nanotechnology Prize (RUSNANOPrize), R&D 100 Award from R&D Magazine (twice) and two Nano 50 Awards from NASA Nanotech Briefs. He has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS), Materials Research Society, American Ceramic Society, the Electrochemical Society, Royal Society of Chemistry, NanoSMAT Society, as well as Academician of the World Academy of Ceramics and Full Member of the International Institute for the Science of Sintering. He also serves on the MRS Board of Directors and acts as Associate Editor of ACS Nano.

Speech Title: Extreme Strength of Single Layers of Two-Dimensional Carbides (MXenes)
Abstract: Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal carbides and nitrides (MXenes) are becoming one the largest families of 2D materials. Since the discovery of the first MXene (Ti₃C₂) in 2011, about 30 different compositions have been synthesized, and structures and properties of about 60 MXenes have been theoretically predicted. For example, 2D Ti₂C, V2C, Nb₂C, Mo₂C, Ta₄C₃, Cr₂TiC₂, Mo₂TiC₂ have been fabricated. MXenes have shown promising properties in different applications, including energy storage, wireless communications, wearable electronics, water membranes, sensors, composite reinforcements, and biomedical applications such as brain electrodes. In all these applications, mechanical stability of the materials plays a critical role. This presentation will provide an overview of computational and experimental studies of mechanical properties of MXenes.

Density functional theory and molecular dynamic (MD) studies have suggested that the elastic properties in MXene basal planes should be quite high (c11 in the range of 500 to 800 GPa), placing MXenes among the strongest 2D materials, slightly below h-BN and graphene. Unlike the latter two, that need to be grown or mechanically exfoliated as single layers to achieve high strength, MXenes are made via solution processing, making large-scale synthesis possible. MD simulations predicted the highest bending rigidity for Ti₃C₂ and Ti₄C₃ among all the known 2D materials, including graphene and MoS₂.

We recently measured freestanding single-layer (1L) and bilayer (2L) Ti₃C₂ MXene on ~ 1-µm wells via atomic force microspore (AFM) indentation. The measured 2D elastic modulus is about 326 ± 29 N/m, which corresponds to a Young’s modulus of 330 ± 30 GPa, and makes Ti₃C₂ MXene the third strongest 2D sheet characterized to date.5 Additionally, Ti₃C₂ MXene Young’s modulus is the highest among the solution-processed 2D materials, exceeding those of transition metal dichalcogenides and graphene oxide. These values suggest a great potential of 2D MXenes for fabrication of multifunctional nacre-like composites for a variety of applications including structural composites, coatings, and wearables.