Multiple ecological contaminants in gaseous, liquid, and solid forms are vented into ecosystems due to the huge growth of industrialization, which is today at the forefront of worldwide attention. High-efficiency removal of these environmental pollutants is a must because of the potential harm to public health and biodiversity. The alarming concern has led to the synthesis of improved nanomaterials for removing pollutants. A path to innovative methods for identifying and preventing several obnoxious, hazardous contaminants from entering the environment is grabbing attention. Various applications in diverse industries are seen as a potential directions for researchers. MXene is a new, excellent, and advanced material that has received greater importance related to the environmental application. Due to its unique physicochemical and mechanical properties, high specific surface area, physiological compatibility, strong electrodynamics, and raised specific surface area wettability, its applications are growing. This review paper examines the most recent methods and trends for environmental pollutant removal using advanced 2D Mxene materials. In addition, the history and the development of MXene synthesis were elaborated. Furthermore, an extreme summary of various environmental pollutants removal has been discussed, and the future challenges along with their future perspectives have been illustrated.
Petroleum, coal, and natural gas reservoir were depleting continuously due to an increase in industrialization, which enforced study to identify alternative sources. The next option is the renewable resources which are most important for energy purpose coupled with environmental problem reduction. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have become a promising approach to generate cleaner and more sustainable electrical energy. The involvement of various disciplines had been contributing to enhancing the performance of the MFCs. This review covers the performance of MFC along with different wastewater as a substrate in terms of treatment efficiencies as well as for energy generation. Apart from this, effect of various parameters and use of different nanomaterials for performance of MFC were also studied. From the current study, it proves that the use of microbial fuel cell along with the use of nanomaterials could be the waste and energy-related problem-solving approach. MFC could be better in performances based on optimized process parameters for handling any wastewater from industrial process.
Oil spills are a major contributor to water contamination, which sets off a significant impact on the environment, biodiversity, and economy. Efficient removal of oil spills is needed for the protection of marine species as well as the environment. Conventional approaches are not efficient enough for oil-water separation; therefore, effective strategies and efficient removal techniques (and materials) must be developed to restore the contaminated marine to its normal ecology. Several research studies have shown that nanotechnology provides efficient features to clean up these oil spills from the water using magnetic nanomaterials, particularly carbon/polymer-based magnetic nanocomposites. Surface modification of these nanomaterials via different techniques render them with salient innovative features. The present review discusses the advantages and limitations of conventional and advanced techniques for the oil spills removal from wastewater. Furthermore, the synthesis of magnetic nanocomposites, their utilization in oil-water separation, and adsorption mechanisms are discussed. Finally, the advancement and future perspectives of magnetic nanocomposites (particularly of carbon and polymer-based magnetic nanocomposites) in environmental remediation are presented.
Water consumption has grown in recent years due to rising urbanization and industry. As a result, global water stocks are steadily depleting. As a result, it is critical to seek strategies for removing harmful elements from wastewater once it has been cleaned. In recent years, many studies have been conducted to develop new materials and innovative pathways for water purification and environmental remediation. Due to low energy consumption, low operating cost, and integrated facilities, membrane separation has gained significant attention as a potential technique for water treatment. In these directions, MXene which is the advanced 2D material has been explored and many applications were reported. However, research on MXene-based membranes is still in its early stages and reported applications are scatter. This review provides a broad overview of MXenes and their perspectives, including their synthesis, surface chemistry, interlayer tuning, membrane construction, and uses for water purification. Application of MXene based membrane for extracting pollutants such as heavy metals, organic contaminants, and radionuclides from the aqueous water bodies were briefly discussed. Furthermore, the performance of MXene-based separation membranes is compared to that of other nano-based membranes, and outcomes are very promising. In order to shed more light on the advancement of MXene-based membranes and their operational separation applications, significant advances in the fabrication of MXene-based membranes is also encapsulated. Finally, future prospects of MXene-based materials for diverse applications were discussed.