Enhanced Ferromagnetism in Surface-Modified 2D Ti 3 C 2 T X MXene

Chemical reduction is a facile and cost-effective technique for the modulation of physical and

chemical properties of nanomaterials. Herein, we demonstrate an enhancement of the magnetic

behavior of Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene after its chemical reduction via L-ascorbic acid treatment. Small

ferromagnetic loops have been observed below 50 K for Ti 3 C 2 T x prepared by hydrofluoric acid

(HF) etching of Al layers from Ti 3 AlC 2 . Such a ferromagnetic ordering of spins was significantly

enhanced via a chemical reduction of Ti 3 C 2 T x with L-ascorbic acid. Ferromagnetic hysteresis

loops were observed for reduced Ti 3 C 2 T x (r-Ti 3 C 2 T x ) up to 150 K indicating significant upshift of

the paramagnetic to ferromagnetic transition temperature, pushing towards room temperature.

The enhancement of ferromagnetism and upshift of the ferromagnetic transition temperature

could be attributed to the localized unpaired electron in Ti-3d orbital of the r-Ti 3 C 2 T x crystal and

removal of the significant number of F-terminations upon L-ascorbic acid treatment. Surface

modification via L-ascorbic acid treatment shows a promising pathway towards the modulation

and enhancement of magnetism in various MXene materials for the development of 2D metallic

soft ferromagnets and spintronic devices.