Multiresponsive 2D Ti₃C₂T_<i>x</i> MXene <i>via</i> Implanting Molecular Properties.

Abstract

The design and fabrication of active nanomaterials exhibiting multifunctional properties is a must in the so-called global "Fourth Industrial Revolution". In this sense, molecular engineering is a powerful tool to implant original capabilities on a macroscopic scale. Herein, different bioinspired 2D-MXenes have been developed <i>via</i> a versatile and straightforward synthetic approach. As a proof of concept, Ti₃C₂T_<i>x</i> MXene has been exploited as a highly sensitive transducing platform for the covalent assembly of active biomolecular architectures (<i>i.e.</i>, amino acids). All pivotal properties originated from the anchored targets were proved to be successfully transferred to the resulting bioinspired 2D-MXenes. Appealing applications have been devised for these 2D-MXene prototypes showing (i) chiroptical activity, (ii) fluorescence capabilities, (iii) supramolecular π-π interactions, and (iv) stimuli-responsive molecular switchability. Overall, this work demonstrates the fabrication of programmable 2D-MXenes, taking advantage of the inherent characteristics of the implanted (bio)molecular components. Thus, the current bottleneck in the field of 2D-MXenes can be overcome after the significant findings reported here.