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Chemists cram record nine metals into trendy 2D material

MXenes, distant cousins of graphene, reach new heights of complexity — opening the way for use in advanced batteries and more.
By
  1. Katherine Bourzac
Scanning Electron Microscopy of a particle of MXene.

2D materials called MXenes (coloured particle shown here in scanning electron micrograph) contain several layers of metals and carbons or nitrogen atoms. Credit: Devynn Leatherman-May, Brian C. Wyatt, and Babak Anasori, Purdue University

Chemists have doubled the members of a family of buzzy 2D materials, and even jammed a record nine metals into one of them. The feat, published today in Science1, has excited researchers because it opens the door to designing a multitude of weird but useful substances.

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Nature 645, 570-571 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-02839-6

References

  1. Wyatt, B. C. et al. Science https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adv4415 (2025).

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  2. Naguib, M. et al. Adv. Mater. 23, 4248–4253 (2011).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Nemani, S. K. et al. ACS Nano 15, 12815–12825 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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