Terminal Groups Enable Tunable, Versatile MXene Materials

Terminal Groups Enable Tunable, Versatile MXene Materials

MXenes—atomically thin transition metal carbides and nitrides—are drawing fresh attention for one simple reason: their surfaces are never truly bare. During production, the “A” layers of MAX-phase precursors are selectively etched away, leaving behind stacks of Mₙ₊₁Xₙ sheets whose exposed transition-metal sites rapidly react with the surrounding environment. To reduce surface energy, those reactive atoms spontaneously bind with heteroatoms such …