They can store electricity better than almost any material on Earth, block an onslaught of electromagnetic interference, and sniff out the faintest trace of toxins in the air, but MXenes, the latest super-material-in-waiting, have trouble with water. Like a rake left out in the rain, they oxidize, and quickly, when stored or mixed in water. It’s an issue of consequence, considering some of the most promising applications require combining MXene flakes in water to make things like conductive ink and spray coatings. A breakthrough, recently published by Drexel University researchers in a German chemistry journal, showing that a common water-softening additive can help to preserve the flakes in water, could be the key to its future viability.
Click here for original story, A dash of salt could fortify MXene ‘supermaterials’ against oxidation
Source: Phys.org