Realization of 3D epoxy resin/Ti₃C₂T_x MXene aerogel composites for low-voltage electrothermal heating

Suitable electrothermal materials with high heating rates at low electric power are highly desirable for de-icing and thermal management applications. Herein, 3D epoxy resin/Ti₃C₂T_x MXene composites are synthesised and shown to be promising candidates for electrothermal heaters where the MXene serves as a nanoheater and the epoxy resin spreads the heat. A unidirectional freeze-casting technique was used to prepare an anisotropic Ti₃C₂T_x aerogel into which epoxy resin was then vacuum infiltrated and cured. The resulting composite showed an excellent Joule heating performance over repeated heating-cooling cycles. A steady-state temperature of 123 ^◦C was obtained by applying a low voltage of 2 V with 5.1 A current, giving a total power output of 6.1 W cm⁻². Such epoxy/MXene aerogel composites, prepared by a simple and cost-effective manner, offer a potential alternative to the traditional metal-based and nanocarbon-based electrothermal materials.