Abstract
Green, scalable and efficient synthesis methods are critical for advancing MXene research and practical applications. However, the production of delaminated MXenes still relies on complex multistep processes to achieve both selective etching and delamination. Here we propose a single-step strategy to directly transform MAX phases into delaminated MXenes using a deep eutectic solvent (DES) based on cobalt chloride/choline chloride (CoCl2·6H2O/ChCl). This system combines a redox process between Lewis acidic salts and A-site elements with an expansion effect from organic ligand decomposition, enabling integrated etching, delamination and surface functionalization. The DES-derived MXenes exhibit unique surface chemistry with –Cl, –O and –NHyR1−y terminations, delivering exceptional lithium-ion storage performance (451 mAh g−1 at 0.05 A g−1). Notably, this approach yields MXenes with positively charged surfaces, suppressing anionic polyiodide shuttling in zinc–iodine batteries. The resulting batteries retain 146 mAh g−1 capacity after over 60,000 cycles at 10 A g−1. This work provides an environmentally friendly and scalable route to delaminated MXenes, integrating structural control with interfacial engineering, and expands their versatility in energy storage and beyond.
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Acknowledgements
We acknowledge support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 52432005, 52472228 and 22121004). Y.T. and Q.-H.Y. acknowledge the National Industry-Education Integration Platform of Energy Storage, Haihe Laboratory of Sustainable Chemical Transformations and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities. Z. Lin thanks the support from the Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province (grant no. 2023NSFSC1942).
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Q.-H.Y. and Y.T. conceived of the idea, and Q.-H.Y., Y.T., P.S. and Z. Lin directed the project. F.L., Y.L. and Z.W. performed the experiments. F.L., B.Z., J.Y., C.G. and S.C. conducted the MXene synthesis and characterization. R.Y., Z. Li and L.W. carried out the theoretical calculations. F.L., F.W. and Z.C. conducted the electrochemical tests. All authors discussed the results and prepared the paper.
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Nature Synthesis thanks Hai Wang and Zhong-Shuai Wu for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Primary Handling Editor: Alexandra Groves, in collaboration with the Nature Synthesis team.
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Li, F., Long, Y., Wu, Z. et al. Single-step synthesis of delaminated MXenes in deep eutectic solvents. Nat. Synth (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44160-026-01019-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44160-026-01019-2
