Artificial kidneys, powerful batteries and efficient water purification are some of the future applications of a group of ultrathin materials known as MXenes. This opinion is expressed in an article in the journal Science, whose authors include one from Linköping University.
Materials that have a cross-section as thin as one or a few layers of atoms possess unusual properties due to their thickness. These properties may be high electrical conductivity, high strength or an ability to withstand heat, giving ultrathin materials a great potential for use in future technology. The most well-known material is graphene, and the hunt for other ultrathin materials, also known as two-dimensional materials, has increased in intensity since its discovery.
Graphene and many other two-dimensional materials are either semiconductors, semimetals or polarized insulators. The lack of an ultrathin metal conductor is an obstacle in the development of components based exclusively on two-dimensional materials.
In 2011 a new group of ultrathin materials was discovered, and given the name MXenes. They consist of a metal in combination with either carbon or nitrogen atoms. MXenes supplement other ultrathin materials in that they are metallic conductors, and open the door to completely new applications on the nanometre scale.
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