Focused Review on the Synthesis of Titanium Carbide MXene via Fluorine-Free Methods for Lithium-Ion Batteries

The world is gradually moving toward more ecological and environmentally friendly energy production and storage mediums to tackle the ever-growing needs. These conventional methods and materials thus are not suitable enough to be continually practiced and consumed. MXenes are the next generation of two-dimensional materials (2DMs) that have been found to be an advanced alternative to the current graphene-based substitutes; however, the predominant method to produce MXene phases has been through fluoride-based precursors, which end up producing fluoride-based products causing significant environmental harm. This review aims to catalogue a number of significant investigations recently conducted with the objective of synthesizing MXenes with fluoride-free precursors and the structural and electrical performance of the resultant phases. Finally, the role of such MXene based electrodes for batteries has been discussed as well. The current challenges in fabrication of high performance MXene based batteries, possible opportunities, and future directions are discussed as well.