Development of high-performance titanium carbide (Ti3C2TX-MXENE) nanomaterial reinforced hybrid composites

The rapid advancements in technology and the growing impact of modern lifestyles have led to a significant increase in the number of electronic devices in our daily lives. While these devices offer numerous innovations that simplify our lives, the electromagnetic (EM) waves they emit can pose significant threats to both human health and the operational performance of devices. To mitigate these effects, research has been conducted on the development of materials with electromagnetic shielding effectiveness. Although metals provide the highest EM shielding due to their high electrical conductivity, their heavy weight, low corrosion resistance, and high cost drive the search for alternative materials. In this study, Ti3C2Tx-MXene, a member of the MXene family known for its exceptional properties such as high surface area, mechanical strength, and electrical conductivity, was synthesized using the MILD method. Subsequently, this material was combined with glass and carbon fibers to produce layered hybrid composites. The study aimed to utilize MXene to impart EM shielding effectiveness to the composites and enhance mechanical properties by improving the fiber-matrix interface. In the first part of the study, MXene solutions with different concentrations (0.2%, 0.4%, and 0.8%) were applied to carbon fabric surfaces using the spray coating method, followed by the production of laminated composites via the vacuum infusion method. The 0.4% MXene-reinforced composite exhibited 12.71%, 13.12%, and 25.95% higher flexural, tensile, and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) values, respectively, compared to the reference specimen. The strong hydrogen bonds between acid-treated carbon fiber-epoxy and MXene, as well as the enhancement of mechanical interlocking by MXene, were identified as the reasons for this improvement. In the X-band range, the reference sample demonstrated a total shielding effectiveness (SET) of -31.13 dB, while the composite sample containing 0.8% MXene exhibited a shielding effectiveness of -32.63 dB. It was concluded that the increase in MXene content did not result in a significant difference in the SET values of the composites. In the other part of the study, MXene-coated carbon fabrics were produced by applying 5 and 10 cycles of dip-drying processes to 5 mg/ml and 10 mg/ml MXene solutions. Subsequently, laminated composites with different configurations were fabricated using these fabrics. The composite specimen produced from fabrics coated with 10 mg/ml concentration and 10 cycles exhibited the highest SET value of -34.92 dB, which is 6.57% higher than the reference specimen. Additionally, using the same concentration (10 mg/ml) and coating repetitions (5 and 10), layered composites were fabricated with glass fiber fabrics via the vacuum infusion method. As the number of coating cycles increased, more MXene accumulated on the surface of the glass fabric, which positively enhanced the EM shielding effectiveness of the composites. The laminated composites with MXene-coated glass fiber fabrics, having a thickness of 1.70 mm, achieved a SET value of -23.21 dB in the X-band range, which is 205.8% higher than that of the glass fiber-epoxy composite without MXene. In the final part of the study, the epoxy matrix was modified using MXene and MXene functionalized with a coupling agent (APTES), referred to as FM. Glass fiber-reinforced hybrid composites were then produced using hand lay-up and vacuum bagging methods. Functionalization significantly improved the dispersion of FM within the epoxy, resulting in a more uniform distribution. The addition of 0.25% FM to the epoxy increased the flexural, tensile, and ILSS of the composites by 27.55%, 19.21%, and 12.40%, respectively, compared to the control specimen. Furthermore, MXene reinforcement enhanced the flame-retardant properties of the composites, with the 0.5% FM-reinforced sample showing a 25.50% lower burning rate than the reference specimen. Additionally, the fracture surfaces of the composites were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after mechanical testing. The observed damage features on the fracture surfaces included fiber breakage, fiber pull-out, debonding, delamination, matrix cracking, and buckling damage.