Harnessing niobium-based MXenes for sensors and energy storage applications: The past, the present and the future

Niobium carbide MXenes belong to a class of metal carbide MXenes with niobium as the early transition metal. The transformation of niobium carbide MXene sheets in to few-layer MXene sheets, the combination of the niobium-based MXene with other materials, delamination, intercalation, and partial oxidation of the niobium carbide MXene sheets have resulted in the formation of a material with excellent energy storage and sensing potentials. Herein, the synthesis and classification of the niobium-based MXenes (NBM), their application as sensing materials for a wide range of analytes, and their energy storage potentials are discussed exhaustively. The various transformations of niobium carbide MXenes over the last two decades are also established in this timely review. Essentially, this review is a searchlight on the prospects of NBM, the current state of their application, and their relevance in the materials research community.