Particle size reduction using ultrasonic embossing

• Main Author: Shuek, Ezra Jin Hao
• Other Authors: Hong Li
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Engineering::Mechanical engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/150890
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Two-dimensional MXenes, have recently gained tremendous interest due to their excellent electrical, mechanical, electrochemical and structural properties which are excellent for use in diverse applications such as energy storage, optical and nanotechnology applications. Furthermore, MXenes’ intrinsic properties can be tuned to match a specific application when its particles are in the nanoscale which can be achieved by using mechanical processing techniques to reduce its particle size. Herein, the author explores a novel ultrasonic embossing technique that imprints nanostructures on MXene films. A variation of ultrasonic embossing parameters and sample preparation steps were attempted to fabricate a high yield of homogeneous MXene nanoparticles via the imprinted nanostructures. The results show that embossing with a higher amplitude (%) and etching with NaOH thereafter will lead to a higher chance of imprinting nanostructures, with an amplitude of 20% imprinting an array of nanostructures with a diameter of 200 nm. Therefore, it shows that ultrasonic embossing is suitable for fabricating MXene nanoparticles to tune its properties to a specific application.