MXenes

The Advanced Carbons Council calls for a U.S. carbon materials innovation platform focused on standards, testing and buyer qualification. The paper links engineered-carbon supply chains to manufacturing, energy, defense and AI infrastructure. Serves as a model for governments world-wide.

The MXeneCatSus COST Action is a European research network established to engineer MXene-based catalysts—two-dimensional materials made from Earth-abundant elements—for hydrogen generation, CO2 conversion, and nitrogen fixation. The initiative is relevant to advanced carbon materials research as MXenes share structural and functional characteristics with other 2D carbon materials and are being developed as alternatives or complements to graphene in catalytic applications.

Researchers at the University of Johannesburg fabricated a three-layer nanocomposite photocatalyst (Ti1.33N@BiVO4/GdIn2Se3) incorporating a custom-synthesized MXene, achieving 20× greater electrical conductivity and charge-carrier lifetimes up to 59.5 seconds compared to single-component baselines. The MXene engineering approach demonstrates a pathway for improving charge-carrier retention in 2D carbon-adjacent materials, with direct relevance to MXene-based composite development for energy and environmental applications.