MXene-based materials as adsorbents, photocatalysts, membranes and sensors for detection and removal of emerging and gaseous pollutants: A comprehensive review

2D materials have garnered significant attention as potential solutions to various environmental challenges. Graphene, molybdenum disulfide, MXenes, and boron nitride have emerged as the most popular candidates among these materials. This article presents a comprehensive review and discussion on the emerging applications of MXenes in environmental engineering. MXenes have demonstrated immense potential as future materials for adsorption purposes. They have proven to be highly effective in removing emerging pollutants (heavy metals and organic pollutants) through the adsorption phenomenon. The effectiveness of MXenes in removing lead (Pb 2+ ), chromium (Cr 6+ ), copper (Cu 2+ ), uranium (U 6+ ), and mercury (Hg 2+ ) has been confirmed, with a sorption capacity ranging from 100 to 250 mg g −1 . Furthermore, MXenes have effectively removed several radionuclides, including uranium, europium, strontium, barium, and thorium. MXenes have proven to be highly efficient in treating water through adsorption in emerging organic pollutants, even for various organic dyes such as methylene blue, acid blue, congo red, methyl orange, and rhodamine B (RhB). Additionally, MXenes exhibit high treatment performance in adsorbing several pharmaceuticals like cloxacillin (CLX), ampicillin (AMP), amoxicillin (AMX), ciprofloxacin (CPX), amitriptyline (AMT), verapamil (VRP), carbamazepine (CBM), 17 α-ethinyl estradiol, ibuprofen (IBP), and diclofenac (DCF). Overall, MXenes offer several advantages, such as good conductivity, thermal performance, high surface area, and selectivity of intermolecular interactions. However, their application requires thoroughly evaluating their environmental impact and life cycle assessment.