Non-van der Waals superlattices of carbides and carbonitrides
Article metadata
Article Date: 22 October 2025
Article URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09649-w
Article Image: (not provided)
Summary
The authors report an efficient synthetic route to a new family of non-van der Waals (non-vdW) superlattices made from carbides and carbonitrides (derived from MAX phases). Instead of weak van der Waals interfaces, these stacked layers are bound by hydrogen bonding created via a stiffness-mediated rolling-up process. By engineering metal vacancies to tune bending stiffness, multilayer MX slabs undergo ordered rolling-up under rapid flexural deformation to form densely coupled superlattices. The resulting materials show very strong interlayer electronic coupling, extremely high carrier concentration (~10^22 cm−3), electrical conductivity of ~30,000 S cm−1 (about 22× higher than comparable counterparts) and exceptional electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding — an optimal film reached 124 dB shielding effectiveness at a comparable thickness superior to known synthetic materials.
Key Points
- New synthesis: a stiffness-mediated rolling-up strategy converts MAX-derived MX slabs into ordered non-vdW superlattices via controlled metal vacancies.
- Interlayer bonding: hydrogen bonds (not van der Waals forces) create robust interlayer electronic coupling across the stack.
- Electronic performance: very high carrier concentration (~10^22 cm−3) and conductivity ≈30,000 S cm−1 — roughly 22× that of equivalent materials.
- EMI shielding: optimised non-vdW superlattice films demonstrate up to 124 dB shielding effectiveness at comparable thicknesses, outperforming existing synthetic materials.
- Generality: approach broadens the materials platform — variable compositions and crystal structures are possible for artificially stacked systems beyond vdW heterostructures.
Content summary
The paper contrasts conventional van der Waals superlattices (which suffer from weak interlayer coupling) with the new non-vdW architecture where hydrogen bonding delivers strong coupling and markedly different transport and shielding properties. The central experimental advance is controlling bending stiffness of atomic layers via metal vacancies in MX slabs; this makes them roll up under rapid flexural deformation into ordered superlattices. The team performed structural, spectroscopic and transport characterisation (SEM/TEM/STEM, XRD, FTIR, AFM, Raman, UPS and more), complemented by DFT calculations, device measurements and EMI testing. Supplementary video and data illustrate delamination and rolling-up (TBPH-assisted delamination is shown in the supplementary material). The authors provide data and supplementary information for reproducibility and offer simulation code on request.
Context and relevance
This work steps beyond the dominant vdW heterostructure paradigm by demonstrating a scalable route to atomically stacked systems with strong interlayer electronic coupling. For researchers in 2D materials, nanoelectronics and electromagnetic shielding, the results suggest new design principles: tune mechanical stiffness at the atomic-layer level to trigger structural reconfiguration that yields superior electronic and shielding performance. The findings are particularly relevant for high-conductivity films, EMI shielding applications and for efforts to engineer emergent properties through non-vdW stacking motifs.
Why should I read this?
Short version: if you care about materials that actually conduct like metals but are ultrathin and great at blocking electromagnetic noise, this is the paper. It’s clever — they don’t just stack sheets and hope for the best, they engineer stiffness to make the layers roll into tightly bonded stacks with massive carrier density and insane EMI shielding. Worth a skim if you work on MXenes, 2D stacks, shielding tech or anyone after high-performance conductive films.
Author style
Punchy: the team deliver a clear, experimentally backed advance that moves artificially stacked systems beyond weakly coupled vdW interfaces. If you’re tracking practical breakthroughs in 2D-derived conductive films and shielding materials, the details here (synthesis control, vacancy engineering, transport and EMI metrics) are the bits you’ll want to dive into.