Advances of MXene heterostructure composites in the area of sensing and biomedical applications: An overview

Abstract

Among various two-dimensional materials, MXenes have emerged as versatile materials that incorporate transition metal carbide, nitride, and carbonitrides. MXenes are gaining paramount attraction among the scientific community in areas of catalyst, energy, electromagnetic shielding, and sensors due to their outstanding mechanical, electrical, sensing, optical, and tunable characteristics. The unique properties such as surface chemistry, graphene-like morphology, metal-like conductivity, and high hydrophilicity ameliorate MXene as an ideal 2D material for surface-related applications. This review focuses on the most recent reports on the surface modifications/surface chemistry and electrochemical sensing of different analytes using MXenes for biomedical applications, biomolecule detection, and environmental monitoring. The present review concisely summarizes different characterization techniques, such as X-ray diffraction methods and electron microscopy, for evaluating MXene characteristics. Apart from titanium carbide MXene, other MXene needs a careful investigation to accentuate the future perspectives of MXenes in sensor devices. This comprehensive review paper aims to inspire the scientific community that is intrigued by the potential properties, benefits, prospects, and difficulties of utilizing 2D materials in various biosensing and biomedical applications.