Functionalized MXene Ink Enables Environmentally Stable Printed Electronics

Abstract Establishing dependable, cost-effective electrical connections is vital for enhancing device performance and shrinking electronic circuits. MXenes, renowned for their remarkable electrical conductivity and high breakdown voltage offer great promise as contact materials in microelectronics. However, their hydrophilic surfaces, susceptible to environmental degradation, and poor stability in organic solvents, have restricted their electronic applications. Thus, we’ve harnessed the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing for fully solution-processed thin-film transistors (TFTs). These TFTs employ alkylated 3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine functionalized Ti3C2Tx (AD-MXene) as source, drain, and gate electrodes. AD-MXene excels in EHD printing due to its outstanding dispersion stability in ethanol and sustained high electrical conductivity, surpassing traditional vacuum-deposited gold and aluminum electrodes. It enhances the environmental stability of TFTs, enabling integration into complex systems such as engineering logic gates (NOT, NAND, and NOR) and one-transistor-one-memory cells. This advance highlights ligand-functionalized MXenes’ significant potential in printed electrical contacts and paves the way for environmentally robust MXene-based electronics (MXetronics).