Triphasic synthesis of MXenes with uniform and controlled halogen terminations
Abstract Surface terminations critically govern the properties of two-dimensional transition metal carbides and/or nitrides (MXenes), yet a universal strategy to obtain MXenes with uniform and controllable terminations remains elusive. Here we introduce a ‘gas–liquid–solid’ triphasic etching strategy that employs iodine vapour, halide molten salts and MAX phases to produce MXenes with pure and precisely tunable halogen terminations (Cl, Br, I or their combinations). In this process, halide molten salts dissolve iodine via interhalogen anion formation while efficiently transporting etching by-products. The resulting MXenes retain excellent structural integrity, yielding uniformly ordered surfaces. As a representative example, Ti 3 C 2 Cl 2 shows a 160-fold enhancement in macroscopic conductivity and a 13-fold enhancement in terahertz conductivity relative to conventional Cl/O-terminated Ti 3 C 2 , attributed to minimized electron trapping and scattering. Beyond single-halogen terminations, the gas–liquid–solid approach enables dual- and triple-halogen termination control, providing a general platform for tailoring MXene surface chemistry towards advanced (opto)electronic applications.
Authors
- T. Šikola
- Jingwei Du
- Minghao Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0211-0778)
- Silvan Kretschmer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5098-5763)
- Kamil Sobczak
- Wenhao Zheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0090-614X)
- Paweł Piotr Michałowski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3299-4092)
- Josef Polčák (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6571-6291)
- Ehrenfried Zschech (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5220-3083)
- Jinxin Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3939-6853)
- Jiaxu Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6092-3224)
- Quanquan Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4624-0600)
- Mischa Bonn
- Xinliang Feng
- Kornelius Nielsch
- Ruoling Yu
- Juliane Scheiter
- Nicolás Pérez
- Arkady V. Krasheninnikov
- Pranjali Hirasing Jadhao
- Mahdi Ghorbani-Asl
- Dongqi Li
- Hai I. Wang
Institutions
- Central European Institute of Technology (CZ)
- Utrecht University (NL)
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (DE)
- Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (DE)
- Nanjing University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics (DE)
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (DE)
- Łukasiewicz Research Network (PL)
- University of Warsaw (PL)
- Brno University of Technology (CZ)
- Technische Universität Dresden (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Synthesis
- Published
- 2026-01-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s44160-025-00970-w
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- MXene and MAX Phase Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 32.17
Funders
- European Commission
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy
- Technische Universität Dresden
- Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
- China Scholarship Council
- Sächsisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst
- Central European Institute of Technology
- Max-Planck-Institut für Polymerforschung
- HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron
- Narodowe Centrum Badań i Rozwoju