Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: New technique allows researchers to scrape beyond the surface of nanomaterials: Using a new secondary-ion mass spectrometry technique, research are getting a fresh look at MXenes and MAX phases

Since the initial discovery of what has become a rapidly growing family of two-dimensional layered materials — called MXenes — in 2011, Drexel University researchers have made steady progress in understanding the complex chemical composition and structure, as well as the physical and electrochemical properties, of these exceptionally versatile materials. More than a decade later, advanced instruments and a new approach have allowed the team to peer within the atomic layers to better understand the connection between the materials’ form and function.