Ti3C2Tx MXene framework materials: Preparation, properties and applications in energy and environment

Solar energy as a clean energy plays an important role in producing sufficient energy for both home and industry usage. It's an alternative for fossil fuels which is damaging the environment by emission of lots of greenhouse gases. Water splitting is a highly potential method to produce "green" hydrogen without using fossil fuels. It is a chemical reaction that converts solar energy into chemical energy and is also called an artificial photosynthesis process. There have been different materials (e.g., TiO2, GaN and Silicon) with photoelectrochemical (PEC) characteristics to be used in water splitting. As novel 2D materials, MXenes are attractive for use in green hydrogen production due to their outstanding properties. Ti3C2Tx is one type of representative MXene materials that can be the photoanodes for water splitting. This review focuses on the electrical, magnetic, and optical properties of Ti3C2Tx MXenes, and summarizes their preparation methods (top-down and bottom-up). Moreover, it discusses the important applications of MXenes in various fields including solar absorber, biology, catalysis, energy storage, and membrane separation. In addition, the challenges and perspectives have been provided.