Potential of MXene-based membranes in water treatment and desalination: A critical review

MXenes have emerged as wonderful materials that earned enormous attention in the last decade for applications in various fields. The potential of MXenes in the development of novel membranes has been explored recently by many researchers. This review critically assessed the recent advances in applications of MXene-based materials for the development of novel membranes. The synthesis routes of the MXene-based membranes are discussed, and the applications of developed membranes in water treatment and desalination are elaborated in detail. MXene-based membranes have demonstrated excellent potential in water treatment and desalination for the removal of dyes, metal ions, and salts from water. These membranes have unveiled exceptional antifouling potential and were proven to be a good choice to be employed in oil/water (O/W) separation. Besides impressive progress, numerous barriers restrict the practical applications of these membranes. The challenges related to synthesis routes of MXenes and MXene-based membranes, their stability and reusability potential, and the development of membranes on large scale are highlighted. Finally, recommendations for future work are suggested to overcome these limitations in future. [Display omitted] •MXene-based membranes have gained tremendous attention in water purification.•The application potential of MXenes in the synthesis of membranes is assessed.•MXene-based membranes demonstrated excellent potential for the removal of pollutants and salts.•Limited data is available on the applications of MXene-based membranes in real water treatment.•Key challenges are highlighted and recommendations for future research are provided.