MXene films, coatings, and bulk processing

Abstract

Interest in two-dimensional (2D) transition metal carbides and/or nitrides (known as MXenes) is growing exponentially across various scientific and engineering disciplines owing to their excellent mechanical properties, rich surface chemistries, metallic conductivity, and tunable transition metal chemistries. A variety of methods have been recently developed to process MXenes into films or coatings for specific applications such as energy storage, optics, electronics, catalysts, and medical devices. This chapter reflects recent progress and outlines future prospects of these MXene processing methods. We provide a holistic overview of the state-of-the-art MXene processing methods for obtaining extremely thin films (e.g., spin coating and layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly) to bulk processing (e.g., 3D printing and stamping). In the following chapter, we describe the mechanisms of such processing techniques in detail when used with 2D MXenes. We also comment on the challenges and future directions associated with these MXene processing methods.