The family of 2D transition metal carbides, carbonitrides and nitrides (collectively referred to as MXenes) has expanded rapidly since the discovery of Ti3C2 in 2011. The materials reported so far always have surface terminations, such as hydroxyl, oxygen or fluorine, which impart hydrophilicity to their surfaces. About 20 different MXenes have been synthesized, and the structures and properties of dozens more have been theoretically predicted. The availability of solid solutions, the control of surface terminations and a recent discovery of multi-transition-metal layered MXenes offer the potential for synthesis of many new structures. The versatile chemistry of MXenes allows the tuning of properties for applications including energy storage, electromagnetic interference shielding, reinforcement for composites, water purification, gas- and biosensors, lubrication, and photo-, electro- and chemical catalysis. Attractive electronic, optical, plasmonic and thermoelectric properties have also been shown. In this Review, we present the synthesis, structure and properties of MXenes, as well as their energy storage and related applications, and an outlook for future research. More than twenty 2D carbides, nitrides and carbonitrides of transition metals (MXenes) have been synthesized and studied, and dozens more predicted to exist. Highly electrically conductive MXenes show promise in electrical energy storage, electromagnetic interference shielding, electrocatalysis, plasmonics and other applications.

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2D metal carbides and nitrides (MXenes) for energy storage

This tutorial review outlines current state of the art research on ionic liquid lubricants. Ionic liquids (ILs) were first reported as very promising high-performance lubricants in 2001 and have attracted considerable attention in the field of tribology since then because of their remarkable lubrication and anti-wear capabilities as compared with lubrication oils in general use; in recent times we have seen dramatically increased interest in the topic. The review starts with a brief introduction to ILs and fluid lubrication, and then discusses in more detail the tribological properties of IL lubricants, either as lubrication oils, additives or thin films. As well as lubrication mechanisms, some current problems and potential solutions are tentatively discussed.

Ionic liquid lubricants: designed chemistry for engineering applications

Molecular sieving membranes with sufficient and uniform nanochannels that break the permeability-selectivity trade-off are desirable for energy-efficient gas separation, and the arising two-dimensional (2D) materials provide new routes for membrane development. However, for 2D lamellar membranes, disordered interlayer nanochannels for mass transport are usually formed between randomly stacked neighboring nanosheets, which is obstructive for highly efficient separation. Therefore, manufacturing lamellar membranes with highly ordered nanochannel structures for fast and precise molecular sieving is still challenging. Here, we report on lamellar stacked MXene membranes with aligned and regular subnanometer channels, taking advantage of the abundant surface-terminating groups on the MXene nanosheets, which exhibit excellent gas separation performance with H2 permeability >2200 Barrer and H2/CO2 selectivity >160, superior to the state-of-the-art membranes. The results of molecular dynamics simulations quantitatively support the experiments, confirming the subnanometer interlayer spacing between the neighboring MXene nanosheets as molecular sieving channels for gas separation. Two-dimensional materials show great potential for membrane technologies, but their disordered channels hinder their molecular sieving performance. Here, Wang, Gogotsi and colleagues design a MXene membrane with ordered nanochannels that exhibits an excellent H2/CO2 gas separation performance.

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MXene molecular sieving membranes for highly efficient gas separation.

2D transition metal carbides, carbonitrides, and nitrides, known as MXenes, are a rapidly growing family of 2D materials with close to 30 members experimentally synthesized, and dozens more studied theoretically. They exhibit outstanding electronic, optical, mechanical, and thermal properties with versatile transition metal and surface chemistries. They have shown promise in many applications, such as energy storage, electromagnetic interference shielding, transparent electrodes, sensors, catalysis, photothermal therapy, etc. The high electronic conductivity and wide range of optical absorption properties of MXenes are the key to their success in the aforementioned applications. However, relatively little is currently known about their fundamental electronic and optical properties, limiting their use to their full potential. Here, MXenes' electronic and optical properties from both theoretical and experimental perspectives, as well as applications related to those properties, are discussed, providing a guide for researchers who are exploring those properties of MXenes.

Electronic and Optical Properties of 2D Transition Metal Carbides and Nitrides (MXenes).

Heterocyclic pyrrole molecules are in situ aligned and polymerized in the -absence of an oxidant between layers of the 2D Ti3C2Tx (MXene), resulting in high volumetric and gravimetric capacitances with capacitance retention of 92% after 25,000 cycles at a 100 mV s(-1) scan rate.

Pseudocapacitive Electrodes Produced By Oxidant-Free Polymerization of Pyrrole Between the Layers of 2D Titanium Carbide (MXene)

In this study, a simple hydrothermal method has been developed to prepare Ti3C2Tx from Ti3AlC2 as a high-performance electrode material for supercapacitors. This method is environmentally friendly and has a low level of danger. The morphology and structure of the Ti3C2Tx can be controlled by hydrothermal reaction time, temperature and NH4F amounts. The prepared Ti3C2Tx was characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Brunauer-Emmet-Teller. The results show that the prepared Ti3C2Tx is terminated by O, OH, and F groups. The electrochemical properties of the Ti3C2Tx sample exhibit specific capacitance up to 141 Fcm−3 in 3 M KOH aqueous electrolyte, and even after 1000 cycles, no significant degradation of the volumetric capacitance was observed. These results indicate that the Ti3C2Tx material prepared by this hydrothermal method can be used in high performance supercapacitors.

Synthesis and electrochemical performance of Ti 3 C 2 T x with hydrothermal process

Tribological investigation of CaF2 nanocrystals as grease additives

MXene is a new type of two-dimensional layered material. Herein, a GO/Ti₃C₂Tx nanocomposite was prepared by a simple liquid phase method, and the obtained GO/Ti₃C₂Tx was transformed into RGO/Ti₃C₂Tx under high temperature with Ar/H2. The prepared samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman measurement, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). As an electrode material in lithium-ion batteries, the RGO/Ti₃C₂Tx nanocomposite exhibited an excellent electrochemical performance and an excellent rate performance. Compared to pure Ti₃C₂Tx, the nanocomposite had a better reversible capacity at different current densities and had no attenuation after 200 cycles, which is one time higher than pure Ti₃C₂Tx. The improvement in the specific capacity was due to the excellent electrical conductivity and the unique structure of RGO, in which a charge transfer bridge was built among the Ti₃C₂Tx flakes. Such a bridge shortened the transmission distance of the electrons and ions and effectively controlled the restacking of the laminated materials.

Bo Wang

Papers

Synthesis and electrochemical performance of Ti 3 C 2 T x with hydrothermal process

Tribological investigation of CaF2 nanocrystals as grease additives

Synthesis and Electrochemical Properties of Two-Dimensional RGO/Ti3C2Tx Nanocomposites

Tribological evaluation of α, ω-diimidazoliumalkylene hexafluorophosphate ionic liquid and benzotriazole as additive

Enhanced Reversible Capacity and Cyclic Performance of Lithium-Ion Batteries Using SnO2 Interpenetrated MXene V2C Architecture as Anode Materials