Despite the remarkable ion-hosting capability of MXenes, their electrochemical performance is restricted to the ion shuttle barrier stemming from the capacious surface and the sluggish chemical activity of intrinsic transition metal layers. Herein, we construct a vertically aligned array of V₂CT_X flakes utilizing a carbon sphere template (V₂CT_X@CS), with the interlayer galleries outward facing the external electrolyte, to shorten the diffusion length and mitigate the ion shuttle barrier. Moreover, we leverage the high sensitivity of V₂CT_X flakes to the water–oxygen environment, fully activating the masked active sites of transition metal layers in an aqueous environment via continuous electrochemical scanning. Aqueous V₂CT_X@CS/Zn battery delivers a novel capacity enhancement over 42,000 cycles at 10 A g⁻¹. After activation, the capacity reaches up to 409 mAh g_V2CTX⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹ and remains at 122 mAh g_V2CTX⁻¹ at 18 A g⁻¹. With a 0.95-V voltage plateau, the energy density of 330.4 Wh kg_V2CTX⁻¹ surpasses previous records of aqueous MXene electrodes.

MAX phases and its derived two-dimensional MXenes have attracted considerable interest because of their rich structural chemistry and multifunctional applications. Lewis acid molten salt route provides an opportunity for structure design and performance manipulation of new MAX phases and MXenes, Although a series of new MAX phases and MXenes were successfully prepared via Lewis acid melt route in recent years, few work is explored on nitride MAX phases and MXenes. Herein, a new copper-based 413-type Ti₄CuN₃ MAX phase was synthesized through isomorphous replacement reaction using Ti₄AlN₃ MAX phase precursor in molten CuCl₂. In addition, it was found that at high temperature Ti₄N₃Cl_x MXene will transform into two-dimensional cubic TiN_α nanosheets with improved structural stability.

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials have received considerable attention in recent years. The EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) of materials depends on not only their composition but also their microstructures. Among various microstructure prototypes, porous structures provide the advantages of low density and high terahertz wave absorption. In this study, by using carbonised wood (CW) as a template, 1-mm-thick MAX@CW composites (Ti₂AlC@CW, V₂AlC@CW, and Cr₂AlC@CW) with a porous structure were fabricated through the molten salt method. The MAX@CW composites led to the formation of a conductive network and multilayer interface, which resulted in improved EMI SE. The average EMI SE values of the three MAX@CW composites were > 45 dB in the frequency of 0.6-1.6 THz. Among the composites, V₂AlC@CW exhibited the highest average EMI SE of 55 dB.

Single-phase Y₄Al₂O₉ (YAM) powders were synthesized via solid-state reaction starting from nano-sized Al₂O₃ and Y₂O₃. Fully dense (99.5%) bulk YAM ceramics were consolidated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1800 ℃. We demonstrated the excellent damage tolerance and good machinability of YAM ceramics. Such properties are attributed to the easy slipping along the weakly bonded crystallographic planes, resulting in multiple energy dissipation mechanisms such as transgranular fracture, shear slipping and localized grain crushing.