Surface termination engineering of 2D titanium carbides for light-activated soft robotics applications

Dhamelyz Silva-Quinones; Xingjian Hu; Brian Cole; Anna Bethke; Alexander Hool; Yilin Zhao; William Collins; Wubin Bai; Qiangu Yan; Jianjun Wei; Michael D. Dickey; Daniel J. Franke; Aaron D. Franklin; Haozhe Wang

doi:10.1016/j.matt.2025.102264

Treesearch

Surface termination engineering of 2D titanium carbides for light-activated soft robotics applications

Formally Refereed

Authors:

Dhamelyz Silva-Quinones, Xingjian Hu, Brian Cole, Anna Bethke, Alexander Hool, Yilin Zhao, William Collins, Wubin Bai, Qiangu Yan, Jianjun Wei, Michael D. Dickey, Daniel J. Franke, Aaron D. Franklin, Haozhe Wang

Year:

2025

Type:

Scientific Journal

Station:

Forest Products Laboratory

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matt.2025.102264

Source:

Matter

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Abstract

This study introduces plasma-ALE as a precise post-treatment to replace performance-limiting fluorine terminations in Ti₃C₂T_x MXene with oxygen-dominated groups. When combined with cellulose nanofibrils, the engineered material enables light-driven soft actuators with enhanced force and motion. The method supports scalable, programmable robotic structures via both vacuum filtration and aerosol jet printing.

Highlights:

Plasma-ALE converts Ti₃C₂T_x surface from F- to O-dominated terminations Plasma-ALE boosts TMC conductivity by 80% and improves photothermal efficiency Plasma-ALE-treated TMC/CNF actuators bend 165° and generate 40 mN force under NIR Compatible with vacuum filtration and aerosol jet printing for scalable fabrication

Keywords

cellulose nanofibrils, MXene, soft robotics

Citation

Silva-Quinones, Dhamelyz; Hu, Xingjian; Cole, Brian; Bethke, Anna; Hool, Alexander; Zhao, Yilin; Collins, William; Bai, Wubin; Yan, Qiangu; Wei, Jianjun; Dickey, Michael D.; Franke, Daniel; Franklin, Aaron D.; Wang, Haozhe. 2025. Surface termination engineering of 2D titanium carbides for light-activated soft robotics applications. Matter. 8(8): 102264. 24 p. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matt.2025.102264.