MBenes phases – a new group of two-dimensional (2D) materials are studied by scientists from the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering of the Warsaw University of Technology (PW). Their unique and still not fully recognized properties may be used in the future in health or environmental protection.

2D materials are ultra-thin atomic-thick flakes or layers that are virtually translucent to light, yet extremely durable. One of them is, for example, graphene. Ever since it was discovered, more 2D material has been searched for.

“The MBenes phases, just like the MXenes known for ten years, are materials of the future”, – says Dr Eng. Agnieszka Jastrzębska, prof. PW, which manages the work of PW scientists.

Prof. Jastrzębska explains that both of these groups can combine properties that seem contradictory, such as electrical conductivity and perfect hydrophilicity of the surface. They are similar, but at the same time different. The MXenes phases are the carbides and nitrides of the early transition metals bonded to carbon and / or nitrogen, and the MBenes – to boron atoms.