Aqueous electrolyte-mediated Al³⁺ ion storage in electrochemically treated Ti₃AlC₂

Herein, we report a simple electrochemical method to exfoliate the Ti₃AlC₂ MAX phase and also investigate the Al³⁺ ion storage phenomenon in aqueous electrolyte. The exfoliation process avoids the harmful Hydrofluoric acid, which is often used for the processing of MXenes. It is demonstrated that exfoliation could be achieved when a hybrid aqueous electrolyte was utilized for the electrochemical treatment of Ti₃AlC₂. Additionally, porous surface structure could also be noticed. The electrolyte is an aqueous mixture of 1 M AlCl₃ and 5 M NaOH (1:10 v/v). The exfoliation was evidenced by electron microscopy images, XRD patterns and Raman spectra. The Al³⁺ ion storage behaviour is also demonstrated in the exfoliated MAX phase. It was revealed that kinetics is governed by a diffusion-controlled process.