Scientists from UNSW and ANSTO have characterised the structure of advanced materials, that could be used as a lightweight fire-retardant filler.
Fire retardant materials can self-extinguish if they ignite.
A team under Professor Guan Heng Yeoh, Director of the ARC Training Centre for Fire Retardant Materials and Safety Technologies at UNSW and Thermal-Hydraulic Specialist at ANSTO, are working to commercialise advanced products for bushfire fighting, building protection and other applications.
They investigated a family of two-dimensional transition metal carbides, carbonites and nitrides, known as MXenes.
In research published in Composites Part C, they reported the molecular structure of MXene, using neutron scattering and other advanced techniques. Because the stability, properties, and various applications of MXene rely heavily on its atomic and molecular structure, Prof Yeoh and associates conducted a detailed structural and surface characterisation of MXene.
More details can be found here.