MXene–MOF Hybrid Nanocomposites: Emerging Platforms for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment

ABSTRACT

The rapid increase in the discharge of chemically complex wastewater, driven by urbanization, industrial intensification, and technological expansion, continues to exceed the capacity of conventional wastewater treatment infrastructure. This undermines progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 6, particularly Target 6.3, which aims to reduce untreated wastewater discharge by 50% by 2030. Addressing this challenge necessitates the development of material platforms capable of selective, high‐efficiency, and multi‐contaminant removal under realistic operating conditions. Metal–organic framework (MOF)–MXene hybrid nanocomposites have recently emerged as promising functional materials for advanced wastewater remediation applications. These materials integrate the high surface area and tunable porosity of MOFs with the electrical conductivity, hydrophilicity, and surface functionality of MXenes. The resulting synergistic architectures facilitate enhanced adsorption, catalytic degradation, and redox‐mediated removal of a broad spectrum of pollutants. Although original research articles account for the majority of publications in this field (85%), comprehensive review articles remain limited (8%), indicating a clear knowledge gap in the literature. Therefore, this review critically discusses recent advances in MXene–MOF hybrid nanocomposites for wastewater treatment, with an emphasis on their design and synthesis strategies, pollutant removal mechanisms, and the key challenges that must be addressed for practical implementation of these materials.

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