Meanings
plural MXenes
- materials scienceAny of a class of inorganic compounds with the general formula Mₙ₊₁Xₙ (where M is an early transition metal and X is carbon or nitrogen), characterized by a layered structure.First known use 2011
Here, we report the extraction of the Al from Ti₃AlC₂ and formation of a new of 2D material that we propose to call "MXene" to emphasize its graphene-like morphology.
[2011, Michael Naguib, Murat Kurtoglu, Volker Presser, Jun Lu, Junjie Niu, Min Heon, Lars Hultman, Yury Gogotsi, Michel W. Barsoum, “Two-Dimensional Nanocrystals Produced by Exfoliation of Ti₃AlC₂”, in Advanced Materials, volume 23, number 37, →DOI1 more example
Generally, MXenes were synthesized by the chemical etching method where chemical etching agents were used to etch off one of layers within ABC-type trielemental layered compounds.
2020, Zhaokui Jin, Danyang Chen, Penghe Zhao, Yanyuan Wen, Mingjian Fan, Gaoxin Zhou, Yingshuai Wang, Qianjun He, “Coordination-induced exfoliation to monolayer Bi-anchored MnB2 nanosheets for multimodal imaging-guided photothermal therapy of cancer”, in Theranostics, →DOI
Origin
A contraction of Mₙ₊₁Xₙ, the general formula for these compounds.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
MXene. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/MXene
“MXene.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/MXene. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “MXene,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/MXene.
Source: MXene on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.