Artificial intelligence uncovers 33 hidden 2D materials in older literature
Researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have used artificial intelligence to discover 33 previously overlooked 2D materials known as MXenes hidden within older scientific databases. The findings, published in the journal Science, have allowed the research team to synthesize 11 entirely new variations using more sustainable methods than before.
MXenes consist of a metal combined with carbon or nitrogen atoms, structured into a few atomic layers that yield an extremely large surface area relative to weight. First discovered in 2011, the material family can be stacked in films where millions of layers interact.
The Treasure Chest Project behind the AI database search
Johanna Rosén, Professor of Materials Physics at Linköping University, led the research group alongside colleagues in Estonia and Finland. The team scanned existing literature and databases to identify MXenes that the research field had not been aware of.
We need to look both backwards and forwards to accelerate materials science. There’s so much information in the literature that we’re not aware of. We as researchers sometimes reinvent the wheel and claim to have made great discoveries – but then it turns out they were already made in Germany, for example, in the 1970s.
said Johanna Rosén. Researchers involved in the work unofficially named the initiative the Treasure Chest Project.
New rapid synthesis methods and magnetic applications
Beyond identifying the 33 existing materials and creating 11 new ones, the team developed a manufacturing method requiring no external heating that forms the materials in just a few seconds. This process uses significantly fewer hazardous chemicals and less water compared to previously.
Ali Saffar Shamshirgar, researcher at LiU and first author of the article published in Science, noted that discovering new compositions expands the possibilities for sustainable applications. The team also demonstrated that substituting rare earth metals into the materials introduces magnetism, broadening potential uses in energy storage, data storage, water purification, and telecommunications.
