Use of nanomaterials for photocatalysis faces challenges such as complex synthesis, high cost, low scalability, and dependance on UV radiation for initiating the photocatalytic activity. We recently demonstrated scalable, one-pot syntheses of one-dimensional (1D) lepidocrocite-based nanofilaments (NFs), 1DL NFs, that have the potential to overcome some of the challenges. 1DL NFs are exceptionally stable in water, have a large surface to volume ratio, and sub-square-nanometer cross sections. Initial reports show the semiconducting nature of this material, with an indirect band gap energy of 4.0 eV, one of the highest ever reported for a titania material. In this work, we present a study of the electronic and optical properties of these newly discovered 1DL NFs using ultrafast transient optical absorption. We show that despite the large band gap of this material, sub-gap states can be accessed with visible light illumination only, and photoexcited species reveal decay times in the nanosecond scale. Long lived photoexcitations in the visible range, without assistance by UV illumination, pave the way for possible application in photocatalysis.
Discovered in 2013, 2D niobium carbide (Nb2C), a member of the MXene family, has been shown to have many extraordinary properties, such as high photothermal conversion efficiency, strong electron-phonon interactions, strong optical absorption in the near-infrared, and even saturable optical absorption. These unique properties of Nb2C render this MXene potentially useful for a variety of applications, including photonic and optoelectronic devices and even photothermal cancer therapy. Here, we employ both terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (TDS) and time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy (TRTS) to investigate intrinsic and photoinduced conductivity and dynamics of optically injected charge carriers with 1.55 eV excitations in order to understand the photoinduced processes taking place in Nb2C. We find that the photoinduced conductivity in this MXene shows an initial rapid decay over a picosecond time scale, followed by a much longer-lived component that lasts for nanoseconds. We also observe that the long-range conductivity is strongly limited by the nanoflake boundaries.
MXenes are a new class of intrinsically metallic 2D materials. Their wide range of optoelectronic properties they demonstrate as a function of their chemical composition suggest applications in electronic and photonic devices. In this work we present a comprehensive study of the optical properties of three members of the MXene family, Ti3C2Tz, Mo2Ti2C3Tz, and Nb2CTz, using ultrafast transient optical absorption and THz spectroscopy. We find that those properties result from a complicated interaction between free carriers, interband transitions and localized surface plasmon resonances. Elucidating the nature of photoexcitation and dynamics of carriers in these emergent materials will lay the foundation for their potential for optoelectronic applications.
MXenes are 2D transition metal carbides and nitrides with electronic properties that can be tuned by their chemistry and structure. Three members of MXene family, Ti3C2Tz , Mo2Ti2C3Tz and Mo2TiC2Tz are all intrinsically metallic, with high intrinsic free carrier densities and high carrier mobility within individual nanosheets. However, they respond to photoexcitation in dramatically different ways: while photoexcitation suppresses conductivity in Ti3C2Tz, it results in a long-lived positive photoconductivity in both Mo2Ti2C3Tz and Mo2TiC2Tz. Those responses suggest applications of MXenes in a variety of electro-optical and THz devices.
MXenes are a new family of two-dimensional transition metal carbides, nitride and carbonitrides with high conductivity and versatile chemical structures. Here we have used THz spectroscopy to study microscopic conductivity and photoinduced carrier dynamics in two Mo-based MXenes, Mo2Ti2C3Tz and Mo2TiC2Tz. Both exhibit high intrinsic carrier densities (~ 1020 cm-3 in Mo2Ti2C3Tz, and ~ 1019 cm-3 in Mo2TiC2Tz), mobilities, and high conductivities within individual nanosheets. We also observe that optical excitation increases their conductivity, unlike Ti3C2Tz, in which photoexcitation suppresses conductivity for nanoseconds. Vacuum annealing improves the long-range transport of photoinduced carriers and further increases their lifetime, as it results in de-intercalation of water and other species from van der Waals gaps between the nanosheets in the films. High and long-lived photoinduced conductivity suggests Mo-based MXenes a promising candidate for optoelectronic, sensing and photoelectrochemical applications.
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