Ti3C2Tx MXenes Application in Wastewater Treatment and Sensing of Pullutants

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 2 billion individuals worldwide use contaminated drinking water sources, resulting in the proliferation of severe waterborne diseases, including cholera, diarrhea, and dysentery. This highlights the urgent need for the development of highly effective water quality monitoring systems and wastewater treatment technologies [1].
Due to the unique structural and functional properties, MXenes have demonstrated promising applications across various fields, including wastewater treatment, electrochemical sensors, optical sensors, and electronics [2-4]. MXenes consist of transition metal carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides, under a general chemical formula of Mn+1XnTx, where M denotes a transition metal, X represents carbon and/or nitrogen, and Tx refers to the surface termination groups [5].
In the present study, Ti3C2Tx MXenes were synthesized in both multi-layered and delaminated forms from the Ti3AlC2 MAX phase precursor. Moreover, different surface termination groups were introduced to extend the properties and applications of MXenes. The synthesized products were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to analyze their structure and surface functionalization. The Ti3C2Tx MXenes were subsequently evaluated as adsorbent materials for a range of pollutants, yielding promising results for their potential application in water quality monitoring and wastewater treatment.

References
[1] Agne Sukoviene et al., Appl. Sci., 15 (2025) 857.
[2] Sonata Adomaviciute-Grabusove et al., Chemosensors, 9 (2021) 223.
[3] Sarunas Zukauskas et al., Sci. Total Environ., 950 (2024) 175190.
[4] Ilya Navitski et al., Nanomaterials, 14 (2024) 447.
[5] Sonata Adomaviciute-Grabusove et al., ACS Nano, 18 (2024) 12589-13452.