Colloidal Gelation in Liquid Metals Enables Functional Nanocomposites of 2D Metal Carbides (MXenes) and Lightweight Metals

Nanomaterials dispersed in different media, such as liquids or polymers, generate a variety of functional composites with synergistic properties. This chapter discusses liquid metals as the nanomaterials’ dispersion media. 2D transitionmetal carbides and nitrides (MXenes) can be efficiently dispersed in liquid Ga and lightweight alloys of Al, Mg, and Li. The chapter shows that the Lifshitz theory predicts strong van der Waals attraction between nanoscale objects interacting through liquid metals. MXenes largely retain their phase and 2D morphology after processing in liquid Mg-Li alloy at 700 °C. MXenes are a large class of 2D metal carbides and nitrides, which have metal-terminated surfaces with tunable surface chemistry. One of the challenges for dispersing nanostructures directly into a liquid metal is poor wetting of ceramic surfaces by liquid metals.