Enhanced Charge Transport in Organic Thin-Film Transistors Through Environmentally Benign MXene-P3HT Nanocomposites

Abstract

In this work, we report the synthesis of MXene (Ti2CTX) nanobelts from its MAX (Ti2AlC) phase via hydrothermal treatment with 5 M NaOH. This is an environmentally friendly and safer alternative to traditional HF-based etching processes. This approach reduces risks to health and handling concerning HF but maintains the exfoliation quality of the MXene layers. The Ti2CTX nanobelts were then incorporated at various concentrations into poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) matrices to form nanocomposite films using the unidirectional floating film transfer method (UFTM). These aligned hybrid films showed dramatically improved charge transport properties compared to pristine P3HT. For instance, adding 3% (v/v) MXene increased the charge carrier mobility from 0.05 cm2V ${}^{-{1}}$ s ${}^{-{1}}$ (pristine P3HT) to 0.57 cm2V ${}^{-{1}}$ s ${}^{-{1}}$ with a high on/off current ratio of $10^{{5}}$ . We attribute this improvement to the template effect of the MXene nanobelts, which promotes the orientational alignment of P3HT chains, thus facilitating efficient charge transport pathways.