Ti3C2 MXene: recent progress in its fundamentals, synthesis, and applications

In this rapidly developing society, it is always crucial to exploit new materials with suitable properties to meet specific application demands. Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal carbon/nitrides (MXenes) are a novel graphene-like material with exciting research potential in recent years. Among them, Ti3C2 debuts in a central position due to its relatively longer research history, mature synthetic process, and incredibly rich store of merits, such as good flexibility, large specific surface area, abundant termination groups, excellent electrical conductivity, and light-to-heat conversion ability. In this review, recent research progress on Ti3C2 MXene and its composites was updated mainly from three aspects, including their fundamentals, synthesis, and applications. It has been found that diverse applications of Ti3C2-based composites are inseparable and correlated with each other, which were linked by their unique physicochemical properties. In the end, a summary and a perspective on future opportunities and challenges of Ti3C2 were given to offer theoretical and technical guidelines for further investigation on MXene family.Graphical abstract