Introduction

Since the discovery of two-dimensional MXenes in 2011, their potential for several applications, such as electronic, optical, biomedical and energy storage devices, electromagnetic shielding, and conductive coating are being studied. More than 60different compositions of MXenes have been etched from their respective MAX phases, and many more are predicted. In addition to their mechanical flexibility, electronic and photonic properties, the surface terminations –OH, –F, –O that attach to MXenes during the etching process lead to several unique attributes, such as hydrophilicity, ion adsorption and diffusion, and conductivity. This chapter begins with a general introduction to MXenes and then continues onto important methods being demonstrated for etching MXenes from their MAX phases. The properties and important applications of MXenes are discussed. The chapter concludes with a mention of the scope of MXenes and the challenges in taking forward MXene-based devices to industrial-scale manufacturing.