MXenes and their composites for energy harvesting applications

Abstract

Ever-growing energy consumption, increasing demand for smart electronics, and limited fossil fuels have led researchers to seek new energy harvesting technologies that might be ultimate solutions for low-voltage and low-power applications where alternatives for (frequently recharged, frequently replaced, extremely costly, unfeasible, or unsafe) batteries are needed. Since the creation of the first MXene-Ti3C2 in 2011, these novel materials have been at the forefront of two-dimensional materials and are suitable candidates for separators or hosts, electrodes, and additives for various applications because of their numerous assets, including high conductivity, tunable band gap, excellent mechanical properties, and flexibility. MXene-based energy harvesting has recently become more promising and has attracted the attention of researchers. This chapter covers the importance of energy harvesting, provides an overview of MXenes and their synthesis techniques, and discusses the building blocks of MXene-based energy harvesting, including the piezoelectric, triboelectric, thermoelectric, and magnetostrictive energy conversion mechanisms of solar energy. This is among the broadest book chapters to appear to date on the subject of MXene-based energy harvesting. The chapter concludes by raising the importance of MXene-based flexible, cost-effective, high-performance energy-harvesting devices. 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.