Next-Generation Materials for Multifunctional Applications: Design Progress and Prospects of 2D MXene-Enabled Hybrid Architectures

Abstract

The rapid development and widespread use of smart, portable, high-bandwidth wearable, and flexible electronic devices have led to an equivocally increased demand for multifunctional nanomaterials. The intriguing nature of the unique layered structure, chemical diversity, and outstanding physiochemical behaviors of 2D MXenes (transition metal carbides/nitrides)-based hybrid architectures with other low-dimensional materials can open a new doorfor multifunctional applications. Achieving high performance with MXenes, such as Ti₃C₂T_x, often requires a large quantity of material, which can be impractical, and hybrid compositions can alleviate this issue quickly. So, combining MXenes with other low-dimensional materials to form hybrid architectures can offer novel solutions with increased physical, mechanical, chemical, and electrochemical properties. However, practical and large-scale applications of these hybrid architectures, especially for targeted applications, still need to be explored. This comprehensive study reviews the design progress and prospects of 2D MXene-enabled hybrid structures, focusing on combinations with graphene, carbon nanotubes, polyaniline, boron, silicon, and metal oxides. It also explores multifunctional applications, including wearable electronic devices, intelligent tunable sensors, new energy electrodes, and biomedical applications. Additionally, it offers a critical discussion (architectures–properties–applications), identifies research gaps, and provides pressing challenges with solutions for the frontier applications of 2D MXene-enabled hybrid architectures.