| Jan 03, 2024 |
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(Nanowerk News) A team of researchers, led by Professor Soo-Hyun Kim in the Graduate School of Semiconductors Materials and Devices Engineering and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at UNIST has made significant progress in the discovery of precisely controlled precious metals (Ru, Ir, Pt, Pd) incorporation by atomic layer deposition (ALD).
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Key Takeaways
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Researchers have achieved a significant advancement in nanomaterials by developing V-MXene integrated with ruthenium, enhancing device sensing performance by 300%.
This innovative technology promises significant applications in personal healthcare devices and clean energy conversion and storage, leveraging the industrial scalability of atomic layer deposition (ALD).
The research opens new possibilities in engineering 2D nanomaterials using ALD and explores the use of non-Ti-MXenes with precious metals, minimizing resource usage while maximizing efficiency.
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| A schematic of atomic layer deposition process and step coverage of ALD-Ru film. (Image: UNIST)
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The Research
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In this groundbreaking study, published in Advanced Science (“Process Controlled Ruthenium on 2D Engineered V-MXene via Atomic Layer Deposition for Human Healthcare Monitoring”), the team successfully developed unique and unexplored two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials V-MXene for the very first time coupled with precious metal ruthenium (Ru) through the ALD process. This breakthrough holds immense promise for various applications, both contact and non-contact mode of real-time temperature sensing at the human-machine interface.
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The integration of Ru-engineered V-MXene through ALD has demonstrated a remarkable 300% enhancement in device sensing performance and durability, surpassing the capabilities of pristine V-MXene. This advancement not only paves the way towards the creation multifunctional, cutting-edge personal healthcare devices, but also holds great promises for the progression of clean energy conversion and storage technologies.
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Moreover, the utilization of the industrially scalable ALD technique used in this research enables precise engineering of MXene surfaces with precious metals, thereby opening up new possibilities for future applications.
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| As-synthesized bulk quantity delaminated V2CTX MXene (DM-V2CTX) to develop Ru-ALD Engineered DM-V2CTX (Ru@DM-V2CTX) for real-time skin temperature sensing, noncontact touch, and breathing monitoring. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag)
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“We are thrilled by the potential of this breakthrough,” said Professor Kim. “The precision-enabled integration of precious metals opens up a whole new world of possibilities in the development of a versatile, next-generation, and safe personal healthcare devices, as well as clean energy conversion and storage systems, with the potential to substantially impact people’s lives.”
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Dr. Debananda Mohapatra, an Associate Research Professor in the Graduate School of Semiconductors Materials and Devices Engineering at UNIST, emphasized the ease and versatility of engineering MXene surfaces with precious metals, using industrially favored ALD techniques. He also highlighted the potential for real-time applications in wearable healthcare devices and clean energy fields. He further stated that “This successful work marks the beginning of a thriving research field of focused on advancing 2D nanomaterials engineering and applications empowered by ALD.”
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| Ru-ALD engineered DM-V2CTX MXene microstructure and elemental mapping. (A) HAADF STEM showing the presence of layered DM-V2CTX MXene structure and the distribution of Ru atoms/clusters, (B, C) HR-STEM of the well-defined layered structure of DM-V2CTX MXene throughout the sample and inset (B) confirms the opening of V2CTX MXene layers after the removal of Al-layers, (D) HR-STEM of both layered DM-V2CTX MXene and Ru lattices, (E) Super-X EDS elemental spectra confirming the elements V, C, Ru, and (F–I) their corresponding elemental mapping images. (Image: UNIST)
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The research team further highlighted the vast potential for exploring the less investigated non-Ti-MXenes, such as Mo, V, and Nb-based MXenes, for surface-internal structure engineering using selective precious metals (Ru, Ir, Pt, Pd) ALD processes. By incorporating single atoms or atomic clusters of precious metals (Ru, Ir, Pt, and Pd), the resulting surface activity and the sensitivity/energy performance per atom can be significantly enhanced. This approach minimizes the use of these scarce and expensive precious metals.
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