MXenes: From functional innovations to solving global environmental and energy crises-A comprehensive overview and perspective

To address the global environmental and energy issues, the introduction of self-sustaining and high-performance materials is inevitable. In this backdrop, MXenes, which are a family of two-dimensional layered structures of metal carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides, find themselves as excellent candidates due to outstanding electrochemical and electrical properties. This review focuses on synthesis, functionalization, and applications of MXene in numerous fields. Various synthesis routes have been explored leading to diverse terminal groups, which are pivotal to physical and chemical properties of the MXenes. Further, DFT studies unleash the distribution of functional groups, binding mechanisms, and MXenes interactions within hybrid systems. In the meanwhile, there are some challenges which need to be addressed such as vulnerability of MXenes to oxidative degradation that can be overcome by controlling synthesis parameters, selecting optimized MAX phase, and treating the MXenes chemically. The review also highlights different applications of MXenes including catalysis, energy storage, biomedicine, and water treatment, making them an ideal candidate as future innovative materials.