In this study, using selective etching method, MXenes (Ti₃C₂T_x) were prepared and were carefully characterized by wide-angle X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Obtained results revealed the successful preparation of MXenes. After that, epoxy resin (EP)/MXenes composites containing 0.25-1 wt% MXenes were prepared. Morphology study of the fractured surface of the samples revealed that the MXenes are finely dispersed in the EP matrix; Curing kinetics study revealed that the addition of MXenes can effectively reduce the curing characteristic temperatures of EP, promoting the curing process to proceed at lower temperatures. Among them, the curing temperatures and curing rate of EP/MX1 with the addition of 1 wt% MXenes are highest and reaches the peak curing rate. Moreover, the EP/MX1 exhibits the highest curing degree; Using Kissinger method, we found that MXenes significantly reduced the reaction activation energy (E_a) of EP. Within the scope of this study, the amount of MXenes added is directly proportional to the degree of reduction in E_a. Compared to pure EP, 52687 J/mol decreased to 40503 J/mol, a decrease of 23.8%; The Ozawa method calculation results show that under the same degree of conversion, the apparent E_a of EP/MX1 is the lowest. The influence of MXenes on the curing behavior of EP was discussed, related mechanism was proposed. Moreover, results of dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) revealed that the glass transition temperature increases gradually with the increase of the MXenes content, indicating that the presence of MXenes promotes the crosslinking of EP.

Keywords: MXenes, polymer composites, epoxy, curing kinetics.