Ten years after producing the first sample of the now widely studied family of nanomaterials, called MXenes, Drexel University researchers have discovered a different way to make the atom-thin material that presents a number of new opportunities for using it. The new discovery removes water from the MXene-making process, which means the materials can be used in applications in which water is a contaminant or hampers performance, such as battery electrodes and next-generation solar cells.
The discovery, which was reported recently in the journal Chem, offers a new recipe for the chemical etching solution that carves away layers from a ceramic precursor material, called MAX phase, to create the two-dimensional layered material, MXene.