Unveiling new boron-based 2D nanomaterials by synthesis in molten salts

This proposal aims at discovering new bi-dimensional materials made of transition metals and boron: MBenes. Although these solid-state phases are expected to exhibit important optoelectronic and catalytic properties, their synthesis could be achieve up to now only at a very small scale and with a large amount of crystal defects, which hinder the study of their properties. To reach some of these materials for the first time, especially a bidimensional iron boride, we want to explore an unreported synthesis pathway: the exfoliation of lamellar compounds MAB (A=metalloid) into inorganic liquids: molten salts. To achieve this goal, we need to understand the reactivity and the transformations of metal borides into molten salts, which are mostly a black box for chemical synthesis. We will shed light on the evolution of these layered materials into molten salts by performing in situ time resolved X-ray diffraction and scattering (PDF analysis).