A KAIST research team has succeeded, for the first time, in synthesizing the core raw material for fabricating asymmetric MXene, a so-called "Janus-faced" nanomaterial that can perform distinct functions because of differing atomic compositions on its two sides, paving the way for the development of multifunctional materials with applications such as removing radioactive pollutants and shielding electromagnetic waves.

 

The research team led by Professor Ho Jin Ryu from the Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering has successfully synthesized an asymmetric layered ceramic (a ceramic with an asymmetric structure in which atomic layers are stacked on top of each other), which is a required precursor for fabricating asymmetric MXene (a two-dimensional nanomaterial with different atomic compositions on its two sides).

The study, "An Asymmetrically Out-of-Plane Ordered MAX Phase as a Precursor for Janus MXenes," was published in Nature Communications. 

Source: Phys.org
https://phys.org/news/2026-06-janus-nanomaterials-pave-capturing-radioactive.html