Water purification, artificial kidneys & organs, and powerful batteries are only some of the future applications of a new ultrathin material known as MXenes. Researchers from Linkoping University say that the new material will revolutionize nanotechnology and help create scientific advancements within our lifetime.
Understanding Nanotechnology
According to the National Nanotechnology Initiative, nanotechnology is the combination of engineering, science, and technology applied at a nanoscale, between 1-100 nanometers. Where nanoscience is the study and application of small things that can be utilized by other fields of science like materials science, physics, biology, chemistry, and engineering.
The field began with a talk by Richard Feynman at the American Physical Society Meeting in 1959, entitled "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom". Nanoscience involves the ability to see and control individual atoms of molecules to produce specific outcomes.
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What are MXenes?
Specific materials that can reach cross-sections this as a few layers of atoms are known to possess unique properties because of their thickness. It may vary from high strength, high electrical conductivity, or the ability to withstand great heat which gives ultrathin materials great potential for future nanotechnology.
The most well-known ultrathin materials are called graphene. Graphene and other two-dimensional materials are often semiconductors, polarized insulators, or semimetals. The lack of ultrathin conductors has become a hurdle in the development of key components built exclusively on two-dimensional materials.
MXenes are a new group of ultrathin materials discovered in 2011. This consists of metal combinations with either nitrogen or carbon atoms. MXenes act as a supplement to other ultrathin materials because they are metallic conductors and opens new doors in new applications of nanotechnology.
A study published in the journal Science, entitled "The world of two-dimensional carbides and nitrides (MXenes)" from researchers at Linkoping University details the many applications MXenes have in collaboration with other fields of science.
Johanna Rosen, a professor in physics, chemistry, and biology at Linkoping University wrote that there are numerous conceivable applications for the future of MXenes. With two closest realizations being inefficient energy storage in the form of supercapacitors, batteries, and electromagnet interference shielding. However, on a long-term scale, researchers will soon be able to manufacture air filters, water purifiers, and antennas for next-generation communication.
Additionally, the new material MXenes are biocompatible, meaning it is highly compatible with living tissue, is non-toxic, and is eco-friendly. Which are currently being studied for possible future applications in biomedicine. One application is the formation of artificial organs such as kidneys that would make dialysis treatments unnecessary in the near future.
Titanium carbide was the first MXene to be discovered by scientists. Now, nearly a decade after, roughly 50 different MXenes have been developed with many of them originating at Linkoping University.
On the other hand, methods currently used to produce MXenes and combinations thereof, provide an infinite set of possibilities. About 6,600 scientific papers have now been published and rapidly growing each year. There are many properties and applications that remain to be discovered and are foreseen as a solution for contemporary challenges in both medicine and technology Phys.Org reports.
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