Abstract Scope |
Selective etching of ceramic precursors, such as MAX phases developed by Professor M.W. Barsoum, is widely used to create nanomaterials. In this process, either A or A+M elements are etched away, releasing 2D sheets such as graphene or MXenes (2D carbides and nitrides of early transition metals) or creating a porous carbon structure. Nanoporous carbide-derived carbon, graphene, and MXenes can all be produced by selective etching of MAX phases in acids, molten salts, or halogen-containing gases. Carbons with high surface area and tunable porosity can be used as designer sorbents or supercapacitor electrodes. 2D materials provide attractive building blocks for manufacturing hybrid materials and devices because they can be assembled into dense structures like bricks in the wall. MXenes have been expanding rapidly and become the fastest-growing family of materials with applications in energy storage, optoelectronics, plasmonics, electromagnetic interference shielding, antennas, electrocatalysis, medicine, sensors, water desalination, etc. |