“…[2,[6][7][8] A good number of MAX phase compounds have then been synthesized [5,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] and the physical properties investigated. [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41] For example, the M 2 AX phases with M ¼ (Ti, V, Cr, Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf); A ¼ (Al, S, Sn, As, In, Ga), and X ¼ (N, C) have been studied both experimentally and theoretically because of their attractive properties as stated earlier. [1][2][3][4][5][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52] Due to the continuing efforts by the scientific community existence of further MAX phases has been reported or proposed.…”