Dr. Jesus Gonzalez-Julian (right) und Apurv Dash (left)

MAX phases are viewed as promising materials for the future, for example for turbines in power plants and aircraft, space applications, or medical implants. A new method developed by scientists from Forschungszentrum Jülich now makes it possible to produce this desirable material class on an industrial scale for the first time: a crust of salt protects the raw material from oxidation at a production temperature of more than 1,000 degrees Celsius – and can then simply be washed off with water. The method, which was recently published in the journal Nature Materials, can also be applied to other high-performance materials.