Michel Barsoum (born January 1, 1955, Cairo, Egypt) is an American-Egyptian materials scientist and engineer, currently a Distinguished Professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the field of materials science and engineering.[1] He is also a published author. In 2009, he became the holder of the A. W. Grosvenor Professorship at Drexel.[2]
Barsoum joined Drexel University as an assistant professor in 1985 after completing his Ph.D. at MIT. He was promoted to associate professor, and in 1997 became a full professor.[2] Between 2009 and 2013, he held the A. W. Grosvenor Professorship, and in 1999 he was appointed Distinguished Professor, a title he continues to hold.[1]
Barsoum is a fellow of the American Ceramic Society and the World Academy of Ceramics, and a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. He received the Humboldt Max Planck Research Award in 2000 and a Chair of Excellence from the Nanosciences Foundation in Grenoble, France, in 2017. In 2020, he was awarded the World Academy of Ceramics#Awards|International Ceramics Prize for Basic Science "for outstanding contributions in opening new horizons in material research and specifically for pioneering work in MAX phases and their derivatives."[3]
With over 550 peer-reviewed publications and an h-index exceeding 150, Barsoum has been listed among the Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers since 2018.[1] He is the author of MAX Phases: Properties of Machinable Carbides and Nitrides (2013) and Fundamentals of Ceramics (2nd ed., 2020).[2]
Research
Barsoum's research focuses on the synthesis, structure, and properties of layered and nanolaminated ceramics and carbides. He is widely recognized for his pioneering work on MAX phases—a family of layered ternary carbides and nitrides that bridge the properties of metals and ceramics. In 1995, together with Tamer El-Raghy at Drexel University, Barsoum was the first to fabricate and fully characterize these phases, including Ti₃SiC₂ and related compounds.[4]
Building on this work, he co-discovered MXenes—two-dimensional carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides derived from MAX phases. MXenes have found wide applications in energy storage, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, and water purification.[5]
In addition to his work on MAX phases and MXenes, Barsoum has contributed to understanding deformation mechanisms in layered solids. He discovered ripplocations, a new universal mechanism describing how atomic layers deform through localized out-of-plane distortions rather than conventional dislocation movement.[6]
His more recent work includes the discovery of a novel one-dimensional form of titania with a core cross-section of 5×7 Å—the thinnest possible form of TiO₂—opening new directions in low-dimensional materials science.[2]
Selected recent publications
Badr, H. O.; Barsoum, M. W. (2024). "Hydroxide-derived Nanostructures: Scalable Synthesis, Characterization, Properties and Potential Applications". Advanced Materials. **36**: 2402012. doi:[10.1002/adma.202402012](https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202402012). Invited paper.
Dahlqvist, M.; Barsoum, M. W.; Rosen, J. (2024). "MAX Phases – Past, Present and Future". Advanced Materials. **72**: 1–24. doi:[10.1002/adma.202400001](https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202400001). ISI Highly Cited and Hot Paper.
Zheng, W.; Yang, L.; Zhang, P.; Natu, V.; Sun, Z.; Rosen, J.; Barsoum, M. W. (2023). "Mass Loading and Self-Discharge Challenges for MXene-based Aqueous Supercapacitors". Energy Storage Materials. **63**: 103037. doi:[10.1016/j.ensm.2023.103037](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ensm.2023.103037). Highlighted paper.
Natu, V.; Barsoum, M. W. (2023). "MXene Surface Terminations: A Perspective". Journal of Physical Chemistry C. **127**: 20197–20206. doi:[10.1021/acs.jpcc.3c06529](https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.3c06529). Highlighted paper for 2023.
Badr, H. O.; Barsoum, M. W. (2023). "On Ripplocations and the Deformation of Graphite". Carbon. **201**: 599–615. doi:[10.1016/j.carbon.2023.07.089](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2023.07.089).
Selected journal publications
Colin-Ulloa, E.; Martin, J. L.; Hanna, R. J.; Frasch, M. H.; Ramthun, R. R.; Badr, H. O.; Barsoum, M. W.; Grimm, R. L.; Titova, L. V. (2023). "Electronic Structure of 1D Lepidocrocite TiO₂ as Revealed by Optical Absorption and Photoelectron Spectroscopy." Journal of Physical Chemistry C, **127**, 7275–7283. doi:[10.1021/acs.jpcc.2c08381](https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.2c08381). (Supported by NSF Grant DMR-2211319)
G. R. Schwenk, A. D. Walter, H. O. Badr, M. Q. Hassig, T. Kono, F. Lagunas, K. Montazeri and M. W. Barsoum, "Synthesis of Titania-based Lepidocrocite Nanostructures by Reacting TiC, TiB2, and TiN with NaOH or KOH at 95 °C and Ambient Pressure", Ceram. Inter. 49, 40001-40010 (2023). DMR-2211319
L. Wang, H. O. Badr, Y. Yang J. Cope, E. Ma, L. Yuan, Z. Li, Z. Liu, M. W. Barsoum, Z. Chai, W. Shi, "Unique Hierarchical Structures of One Dimensional Lepidocrocite Titanate with Cation-Exchangeable Sites for Extraordinary Selective Actinide Capture for Water Purification," Chem. Eng. J., 474, 145635 (2023). DMR-2211319.
Books
Barsoum, M. W. (2020). Fundamentals of Ceramics (2nd ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. ISBN 9780367451242.[7]
**Highly Cited Researcher**, Clarivate/Web of Science (2009, 2018–2025).[1]
**Highest Cited Researcher in Materials Science**, 2023; ranked 8th worldwide in career citations in the field.[2]
**International Ceramics Prize for Basic Science**, World Academy of Ceramics, 2020 — awarded for "outstanding contribution in opening new horizons in material research and specifically for pioneering work in MAX phases and their derivatives."[3]
**Provost Award for Outstanding Career Scholarly Achievement**, Drexel University, 2019.[2]
**Chair of Excellence**, Nanosciences Foundation, Grenoble Alpes, France, 2016.[2]
**Ross Coffin Purdy Award**, American Ceramic Society, 2013 — given to authors who made the most valuable contribution to the ceramic technical literature published in 2012.[11]
↑ Barsoum, M. W.; El-Raghy, T. (2001). "The MAX Phases: Unique New Carbide and Nitride Materials". American Scientist. 89 (4): 334–343. doi:10.1511/2001.4.334.
↑ Naguib, M.; Kurtoglu, M.; Barsoum, M. W. (2011). "Two-dimensional nanocrystals produced by exfoliation of Ti₃AlC₂". Advanced Materials. 23 (37): 4248–4253. doi:10.1002/adma.201102306.
↑ Barsoum, M. W.; Tucker, G. J.; Kalidindi, S. R. (2013). "Deformation of layered solids: ripplocations". Physical Review Letters. 111 (4) 045502. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.045502.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
