# Recent advances in Ti3C2Tx MXene-based composites for electrocatalytic applications

## TL;DR

This review explores how Ti3C2Tx MXene-based composites can improve electrocatalytic reactions for sustainable energy and environmental applications.

## Contribution

The paper systematically analyzes recent advances in Ti3C2Tx MXene composites and their electrocatalytic performance, emphasizing design principles and challenges.

## Key findings

- Ti3C2Tx MXenes show exceptional potential for hydrogen evolution, oxygen evolution, and CO2 reduction reactions.
- Surface chemistry and functional group engineering significantly influence electrocatalytic performance.
- Challenges like oxidation instability and restacking need to be addressed for practical implementation.

## Abstract

Electrocatalysis is central to the development of sustainable energy conversion technologies and environmental remediation systems, yet the rational design of high-performance, cost-effective, and durable electrocatalysts remains a fundamental challenge. In recent years, MXenes, a rapidly expanding family of two-dimensional transition-metal carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides, have emerged as a transformative class of materials owing to their metallic conductivity, tunable surface chemistry, rich termination groups, and structural versatility. These unique attributes endow MXenes with exceptional potential for a wide spectrum of electrocatalytic reactions, including the hydrogen evolution reaction, oxygen evolution reaction, and CO2 reduction reaction. This review provides a fundamental assessment of Ti3C2Tx MXene-based electrocatalysts, encompassing synthesis strategies, surface and termination chemistry, and structure–performance relationships. Particular emphasis is placed on how etching routes, delamination processes, and functional group engineering govern catalytic performances. Recent advances in Ti3C2Tx MXene composites, heterostructures, and defect engineering are systematically analyzed to elucidate synergistic effects and catalytic enhancement mechanisms. Furthermore, the challenges hindering practical implementation, such as oxidation instability, restacking, ion transport limitations, and the need for scalable manufacturing, are discussed. By integrating experimental insights with theoretical modeling and emerging data-driven approaches, this review outlines future research directions and design principles aimed at bridging the gap between laboratory-scale performance and industrial deployment. Overall, this work is expected to establish Ti3C2Tx MXene-based composites as a versatile and continuously evolving platform for next-generation electrocatalysis, while providing a strategic roadmap for their rational design and development in electrocatalytic applications.

Electrocatalysis underpins sustainable energy conversion and environmental remediation, yet designing high-performance, affordable, and durable electrocatalysts remains a critical challenge.