Pristine Ti3C2Tx MXene Enables Flexible and Transparent Electrochemical Sensors.

In the era of the internet of things, there exists a pressing need for technologies that meet the stringent demands of wearable, self-powered, and seamlessly integrated devices. Current approaches to developing MXene-based electrochemical sensors involve either rigid or opaque components, limiting their use in niche applications. This study investigates the potential of pristine Ti3C2Tx electrodes for flexible and transparent electrochemical sensing, achieved through an exploration of how material characteristics (flake size, flake orientation, film geometry, and uniformity) impact the electrochemical activity of the outer sphere redox probe ruthenium hexamine using cyclic voltammetry. The optimized electrode made of stacked large Ti3C2Tx flakes demonstrated excellent reproducibility and resistance to bending conditions, suggesting their use for reliable, robust, and flexible sensors. Reducing electrode thickness resulted in an amplified faradaic-to-capacitance signal, which is advantageous for this application. This led to the deposition of transparent thin Ti3C2Tx films, which maintained their best performance up to 73% transparency. These findings underscore its promise for high-performance, tailored sensors, marking a significant stride in advancing MXene utilization in next-generation electrochemical sensing technologies. The results encourage the analytical electrochemistry field to take advantage of the unique properties that pristine Ti3C2Tx electrodes can provide in sensing through more parametric studies.

Production and Characterization of Non-Isocyanate Polyurethane/SiO2 Films Through a Sol-Gel Process for Thermal Insulation Applications.

The reaction of cyclic carbonates with amines is the most attractive among the synthesis methods for isocyanate-free polyurethane. Non-isocyanate polyurethane films with SiO2 NPs fabricated by a sol-gel process are reported, where cyclic carbonates (CC) were produced under mild conditions by CO2 insertion in an epoxide complex in the presence of LiCl. A reaction of CC and polyamines was carried out in a low concentration polymer matrix of PVA. The materials were characterized by 1H-NMR, FTIR, UV-Vis, SEM, TGA, DTG, and a KD2 pro technique. polymer FTIR results are consistent with the literature, even with the use of a non-conventional methodology, where the found chemical interactions values were 3330, 2930 and 1637 cm-1. There are differences in the polymers' morphologies due to the presence and absence of SiO2 NPs according to SEM, where the spherical morphology and homogenous particle size distribution of NPs around 100 nm. According to TGA results, all polymers showed their last stage decomposition after 300 °C and polymers with higher concentration of NPs showed even better stability. Due to the obtained results, the polymers have the potential to be used for thermal insulation without negative effect on the environment.