By now it is well-established that the layered, hexagonal carbides and nitrides with the general formula, M_(n+1)AX_n, (MAX) where n = 1 to 3, M is an early transition metal, A is an A-group (mostly 13 and 14) element and X is either C and/or N combine some of the best attributes of metals and ceramics.fl] More recently, we have shown that by simply immersing MAX phase powders, at room temperature, in HF or HC1 and LiF solutions, the A-layers - mostly Al - are selectively etched to produce 2D materials that we labeled MXenes to emphasize the loss of the A-group element and their similarities to graphene (Fig. 1).
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