Synthesis, characterization and antifungal property of Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets

Although the antibacterial properties of MXene nanosheets containing Ti3C2Tx are known, their antifungal properties have not been well studied. Herein, we present for the first time a report on the antifungal properties of Ti3C2Tx MXene. The Ti3C2Tx MXene was obtained by first exfoliating MAX phase of Ti3AlC2 with concentrated hydrofluoric acid, then the Ti3C2Tx was intercalated and deliminated by ethanol treatment and ultrasonication process. The delaminated Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets (d-Ti3C2Tx) were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), and Raman spectroscopy. It was found that Ti3C2Tx MXene was characterized by lamellar structure alternating with layers of Ti, Al and C. The EDX results revealed that the delaminated Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets were composed of Ti, C, Si, O, F, and a trace amount of Al. The XRD and Raman spectra further indicated the elimination of Al and the formation of two-dimensional Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets. The antifungal activity of the delaminated Ti3C2Tx MXene was determined against Trichoderma reesei using the modified agar disc method. Observation using inverted phase contrastmicroscopy revealed inhibited fungus growth with the absence of hyphae around the discs treated wtih MXene. The surrounding of the control groups without an inclusion of MXene was found with large number of hyphae and spores. In addition, the spores of the fungi treated with the samples containing d-Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets did not germinate even after 11 days of culture. The results demonstrated disruption to the hemispheric structural formation of fungi colony, inhibition of hyphae growth and cell damage for fungi grown on the d-Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets. These new findings suggest that d-Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets developed in this work could be a promising anti-fungi material.