State-of-the-art recent progress in MXene-based photocatalysts: a comprehensive review

Recently, the emerging two-dimensional material MXene enjoys a high reputation due to its fascinating characteristics and shines in various research fields. Among them, MXene has received increasing attention and favor from the photocatalysis community due to its regular planar structure, outstanding metal conductivity, surface adjustable chemical properties, abundant derivatives, and excellent optical and thermal properties. There is no doubt that the introduction of MXene has endowed the photocatalytic system with extraordinary performance and has made an important impact in the field of advanced catalysis and chemical technology. Herein, on the one hand, we summarize the synthetic route of MXenes and MXene-derived 0D quantum dots (MQDs), and propose the corresponding improved synthetic strategies for the defects of MXenes obtained by the current synthetic methods. On the other hand, recent progress in MXene-based photocatalysts has been reviewed to provide a comprehensive dissection of their designs and applications. It is highly anticipated that these will present researchers with a one-stop point for the state-of-the-art development of MXene-based photocatalysts. Finally, the future opportunities and challenges of MXenes in the flourishing field of photocatalysis are also discussed.