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 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2022 169 063513

Review—The Oxygen Reduction Reaction on MXene-Based

Catalysts: Progress and Prospects
Ray Yoo,1 Eugenie Pranada,2 Denis Johnson,1,* Zhi Qiao,1 and Abdoulaye Djire1,2,z,*
1
Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
of America
2
Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States of
America

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a critical, but sluggish reaction used for various applications, including fuel cells and
metal-oxygen batteries. Currently, the benchmark catalysts for ORR are Pt-based catalysts. However, due to these catalysts being
scarce and very expensive, alternative catalysts that are more abundant and less expensive are urgently in demand. MXenes, a new
two-dimensional (2D) material based on transition metal carbides and nitrides, have advanced the performance of many existing
technologies, including batteries, supercapacitors, sensors, etc. Owing to their unique electronic structure, physical and chemical
properties, and tunable morphology, MXenes are expected to thrive in the ORR electro- and photo-catalytic systems. Recent
studies reported better-performing ORR catalysts with MXenes as supports, which holds promise in the significant reduction of Pt
loading for efficient catalysts. Furthermore, MXenes exhibit wide applicability and stability in a range of pH values, from acidic to
basic. In this work, we carefully review the most pertinent works on ORR using MXenes. We first discuss the catalytic
performance of MXenes in alkaline and acidic environments, followed by their application in metal-air batteries. We investigate
the gaps and challenges in the field, identify key areas that need further attention, and provide directions for future research.
© 2022 The Author(s). Published on behalf of The Electrochemical Society by IOP Publishing Limited. This is an open access
article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse of the work in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. [DOI: 10.1149/
1945-7111/ac766e]

Manuscript submitted March 19, 2022; revised manuscript received May 23, 2022. Published June 17, 2022. This paper is part of
the JES Focus Issue on Electrochemical Separations and Sustainability.

Technological applications involving electrochemical storage and
energy conversion have revolutionized the energy field and shaped
the lives of billions. From batteries and capacitors to fuel cells and
electrolyzers, materials advancement plays an essential role to
accelerate electrochemical processes and enable the development
of novel, life-changing devices. Particularly, oxygen-involved elec-
trocatalytic reactions, including the oxygen reduction reaction
(ORR) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), are commonly
explored in many applications ranging from batteries to catalysis.1
ORR is extensively studied at the fuel cell cathode and at the
oxygen-metal battery cathode to analyze its behavior in cathodic
reactions and in the closure of the circuit of electron transfer.2
Typically, ORR consists of multiple adsorption/desorption processes
and reaction steps involving oxygen-containing species such as O,
OH, O2–, HO2–, and H2O2. However, ORR is often the slowest
reaction in fuel cells and oxygen batteries due to the high bond
energy of the O2 molecule, thus calling for the use of catalysts. The
possible reaction pathways of O2 involve the reduction to hydrogen
peroxide by a 2-electron pathway and the reduction to water or
hydroxide by a direct 4-electron pathway. The ORR via 2-electron
pathway, O2 + H2O + 2e− → HO2− + OH− (alkaline media) and
O2 + 2H+ + 2e− → H2O2 (acidic media), is studied to potentially
replace the anthraquinone process for the industrial synthesis of
H2O2.3–5 Producing concentrated H2O2 requires an energy-intensive
distillation process and thus involves a large capital investment.3
Though direct synthesis of H2O2 from H2 and O2 is possible, it
imposes a great risk of explosion and suffers from low selectivity
due to dilution to lessen safety hazards.4,6 These are enough reasons
to prompt scientists to resort to a greener, faster way to produce
peroxides. However, in terms of electrochemical energy conversion
using fuel cells or batteries, the more desirable pathway is the 4-
electron pathway as it involves more electrons being transferred,
according to the pathway equations denoted by O2 + 2H2O + 4e−
→ 4OH− (alkaline media) and O2 + 4H+ + 4e− → 2H2O (acidic
media).7 Therefore, a catalyst with a high selectivity of the 4-
electron pathway over the 2-electron one is crucial. In general, an
*Electrochemical Society Member.
z
E-mail: adjire@tamu.edu
ORR catalyst should possess the following characteristics: high
electrical conductivity, stability under high electrode potential and
harsh electrolyte environment, porous morphology for mass trans-
port, and high durability of active sites. Currently, the benchmark
catalysts for ORR are carbon-supported Pt and Pt-based alloy
nanoparticles. Their relatively high activity and ORR stability
make them viable for fuel cell technology, especially in electric
vehicles.8 However, the key downside to these catalyst systems is
their exorbitant price and accessibility. In addition, the unsatisfac-
tory long-term durability caused by Pt dissolution, methanol cross-
over, and CO poisoning are other notable issues. These limitations
have motivated researchers to look for other alternatives using
nonmetal and non-precious metal-based materials. This review
article focuses on MXene-based catalysts. The readers are referred
to the following review articles for insights about carbon-based
materials and noble-metal-free catalysts for ORR.3,9
When considering the available options for alternatives, transi-
tion metal-based catalysts show more promise than nonmetal-based
and non-precious metal-based catalysts due to their higher surface
energy and multiformity.10–12 Currently, the state-of-the-art pla-
tinum group metal (PGM)-free catalyst for ORR is the metal-
nitrogen-carbon (M-N-C) catalyst, in which M usually refers to iron
(Fe), cobalt (Co), or manganese (Mn). This type of catalyst is
equipped with single-atom metal sites coordinated with N, which are
immobilized in the carbon substrate. The coordinated FeN4, CoN4,
or MnN4 moiety is considered to be the active site for ORR, and a
carbon support with a porous structure plays a favorable role in
facilitating the electron and mass transfer.9,13 Plenty of works have
demonstrated the tremendous improvement of their activity for
ORR.9,14–16 Unfortunately, the harsh conditions posed by acidic
environments lessen the stability of both the active sites and the
carbon substrate, significantly hindering their further application in
devices. Other non-Pt catalysts that have attracted a great deal of attention
include monometallic, bimetallic, and multimetallic catalysts,17–21 transi-
tion metal oxides,22,23 nitrides,24,25 chalcogenides,26,27 carbides,28 and
oxynitrides.29
Notably in particular, the discovery of two-dimensional (2D)
carbide and nitride materials, MXenes, has since redefined the role
of carbides and nitrides in ORR. Since its first report in 2011,
various MXene applications in energy storage,30 wireless
 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2022 169 063513
communication,31 catalysis,32 sensing,33 optoelectronics,34 and
medicine35 have been proposed. MXene materials are synthesized
through selective etching of the “A” element from the parent MAX
phase. With Mn+1XnTx as the general formula of a MXene, in which
M, X, and Tx represent early d-block transition metals, C and/or N
atoms, and the surface termination groups (–F, –OH, and/or –O–),
respectively, the most fascinating facet of a MXene is its structural
diversity. The favorable 2D structure of MXenes provide high
surface area, high density of active sites, fluent mass transport,
and unique electronic properties.36,37 Insofar, the MXene family has
more than 30 stoichiometric compositions that have been experi-
mentally synthesized and many more theoretically determined, each
with its own distinct electronic, physical, and (electro)chemical
properties38 that provide a tremendous chance for leveraging
MXenes to improve upon specific applications.34 The ease of
tunability for the termination groups offer a facile method to modify
the surface energy and structure, which can be applied to further
manage the catalytic performance. To the best of our knowledge,
there has only been one study on the use of MXenes as the sole ORR
electrocatalyst, which was conducted by Shi’s group.39 Among the
members of the Ti3C2 MXene family (Ti3AlC2 MAX, Ti3C2
multilayer (Ti3C2 ML), Ti3C2 single-layer (Ti3C2 SL)), only the
Ti3C2 SL exhibits reasonable ORR activity in 0.1 M KOH with an
onset potential of 0.85 V and a Tafel slope of 64 mV dec−1. The
higher ORR activity compared to the other members of the family is
attributed to the higher exposed surface area and improved con-
ductivity. It is worth noting that when compared to some of the other
nonmetal and non-precious metal-based catalysts, the Ti3C2 MXene
exhibits a lower performance. Further studies on MXenes are
expected to result in overcoming this drawback. Nevertheless, the
versatility of MXenes as good supporting materials ensure their
future in the field of ORR.
To date, there have been a number of review papers40–42 detailing
the progress and development of MXenes for ORR. These works
highlight MXene-support catalysts and discuss the effects of
different catalyst-support coupling interactions on the resulting
electronic structure of the catalyst. Comparisons are made with the
benchmark ORR catalysts in terms of durability and electrocatalytic
activity. While these papers provide a strong starting point on the
promising capabilities, they, however, lack critical evaluation of the
mentioned works. Through this paper, we bridge the gap by
providing a critical review on the fundamental concepts of using
MXenes as electrocatalysts/supports for ORR and revisit key
fundamental theoretical and experimental works on MXene-based
catalysts as alternatives. We then suggest future considerations to
extend upon andadvance the present knowledge. We emphasize the
different types of systems, including alkaline and acidic media, as
well as batteries, to give the readers an organized full picture of this
field. Finally, we provide a clear extension to the field of metal-
oxygen batteries in order to better provide a picture on the
applicability to real fuel systems. In a thorough perspective, we
conclude this review with the existing issues and the future
challenges along with some possible approaches to them.
ORR in Alkaline Electrolytes
ORR in alkaline electrolytes is a critical aspect to consider in
direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) and other fuel cell applications.
As a favorable competitor to polymer electrolyte membrane fuel
cells (PEMFCs), alkaline fuel cells have demonstrated better
theoretical performance43 and lower costs.44 In the 4-proton transfer
mechanism, the standard reduction potential changes by 0.828 V,
from 1.229 V to 0.401 V vs SHE, as the pH value increases from 0 to
14. This shift in the standard reduction potential leads to a significant
decrease in the overpotential for the first electron transfer in alkaline
media.45 Alkaline electrolytes are used to enable surface-indepen-
dent outer-sphere electron transfer processes during the first stage of
ORR (O2/O2−).45 Additionally, the alkaline media confers lower
adsorption energies of anions, which enables faster ORR kinetics,
and provides a less corrosive environment to the catalysts.46
Various non-Pt metal-based catalysts have demonstrated great
performance of ORR in alkaline electrolytes. For example, manga-
nese oxides (MnOx) are known for their sufficient activity towards
H2O2 decomposition.47 Related studies have pointed out that the
catalytic activity of MnOx toward ORR follows the sequence:
Mn5O8 < Mn3O4 < Mn2O3 < MnOOH,48 and β-MnO2 <
λ-MnO2 < γ-MnO2 < α-MnO2 ≈ δ-MnO2,48 indicating the catalytic
process is sensitive to chemical composition and crystallographic
structure. In another work, copper was doped on titanium dioxide
(Cu-TiO2) to improve H2O2 selectivity of TiO2.49 It was found that
doping Cu not only improved the electrical conductivity of TiO2 but
also increased its oxygen vacancies and reduced the adsorption
energy of HO2− active sites, thereby favoring the production of
hydrogen peroxide. Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have also
been exploited as ORR catalysts due to their high specific surface
area, adjustable pore size, and simple pyrolysis preparation.9,50 A 1D
MOF, manganese tetracyanoquinodimethane (Mn-TCNQ), was
tested for 2e– ORR in alkaline media.51 DFT calculations revealed
that HO2− adsorbed on the Mn sites of the Mn-TCNQ which boosted
H2O2 selectivity to 98%. Metal carbides are also being investigated
for ORR in alkaline media. For example, tungsten carbides (WC)
have attracted great attention as supporting materials or promoters
due to their Pt-like electronic behavior, high chemical stability, and
high corrosion resistance.52 Contrary to expectations, however, the
intrinsic ORR activity of WC directly applied in alkaline media is
extremely low.53
Emerging materials and composites have shown great promise
for ORR catalysis. Among these materials, MXenes have proven to
be conducting fortifiers to composites as they demonstrate strong
interfacial coupling interaction and fast charge transfer.54 Thus, the
integration of MXenes could effectively improve the electroche-
mical properties of composite materials, which would then benefit
ORR performance. Generally, transition metal nanoparticles act as
active catalysts for ORR in alkaline media, and so MXenes could
potentially behave as scaffolds or supports due to their abundant
embedding sites.
MXenes as supports to Co-N-C catalysts.—Zhang’s group
prepared a binary ORR catalyst consisting of non-precious-metal
iron-cobalt (Fe-Co) nanoparticles within Ti3C2 MXene.55 Through
incorporating ethylenediamine (EDA) to form FeCoEDA chelate
nanoparticles, the authors claimed that these nanoparticles can be
successfully grafted onto the Ti3C2 MXene nanoflake substrates. The
agglomeration of nanoparticles can be avoided, leading to higher
activity and stability. From Peng and Zhang’s group, MXene-Ag
composites were prepared through in situ reduction of AgNO3 on
intercalated Ti3C2(OH/ONa)2 MXenes.56 These analogous urchin-
shaped MXene-Ag0.9Ti0.1 bimetallic nanowire composites exhibited
promising activity for ORR. Notably, the alkalization of the Ti3C2
MXene plays a critical role in the successful synthesis of the
composites. In 2018, Zhang and coworkers combined cobalt
deposited carbon nanotube with Ti3C2 MXene (Co-CNT/Ti3C2) for
ORR catalysis in alkaline media.57 The metal organic framework
ZIF-67 was used as a precursor to synthesize carbon nanotubes
through a pyrolysis process, which was further integrated with
Ti3C2. The composite achieved a half-wave potential of 0.82 V vs
RHE, which is comparable to the performance of Pt/C. Additionally,
higher stability was observed for Co-CNT/Ti3C2 when compared
with Pt/C. It was speculated that the abundant Co–N/C, located on
the tip of the carbon nanotubes, performed as the active sites.
However, there is a lack of sufficient evidence, such as scanning
electron microscope (SEM) images, to confirm the tipped cobalt
structure. In addition, the function of integrated MXenes was not
clearly revealed regarding the improvement of electrical conduc-
tivity. Other means of synthesizing Co-CNT/Ti3C2 could possibly
involve the oxidation of Ti3C2, as MXenes are known to be
 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2022 169 063513
precursors of oxides and/or oxide hybrid materials in the proper
atmosphere. For example, Li et al. reported a Ti3C2 MXene-derived
Ti3C2/TiO2 nanoflowers by a synchronous oxidation and alkalization
of Ti3C2 MXene precursor followed by ion exchange and heat
treatment.58 The Ti3C2/TiO2 nanoflower-structure catalyst calcined
at 500 °C exhibited significant improvement in photocatalytic water
splitting compared with pristine TiO2. This nanoflower-structured
catalyst offered more active sites and possessed enhanced charge
separation. It is of interest to see how utilization of MXene-based
catalysts will make an impact on the electrocatalytic activity. For
example, a MXene hybrid, Ti3C2/TiO2 with Co-CNT, could be
tested to determine if there is improvement in the ORR activity.
Song and coworkers developed a pyrolysis method for the
synthesis of a new composite consisting of nitrogen-doped multi-
walled CNTs with cobalt nanoparticles encapsulated and Ti3C2Tx
MXene as a bifunctional electrocatalyst toward ORR and OER.59
Dicyandiamide (DCD) was applied as a source of both C and N for
the formation of multiwalled N-CNTs under the catalytic effect of
cobalt species during the pyrolysis process. The SEM and transmis-
sion electron microscopy (TEM) images shown in Figs. 1a and 1b
exhibit that Co nanoparticles encapsulated N-CNTs (Co/N-CNTs)
are rooted and directly grown on the surface of Ti3C2Tx MXene (red
circles), demonstrating that Co/N-CNTs are tightly coupled with the
Ti3C2Tx MXene. With regards to the ORR activity, there was a
slightly lower performance of Co/N-CNTs@Ti3C2Tx compared with
benchmark Pt/C (Fig. 1c). But, the Co/N-CNTs@Ti3C2Tx signifi-
cantly outperformed the one without the MXene matrix, indicating a
potential synergistic role that the MXene matrix plays in promoting
electron transfer. In addition, through the analysis of the electron
transfer number (n) and the peroxide production yield (H2O2%), a
quasifour-electron pathway with a low H2O2 production yield over
the potential range of 0.2–0.8 V vs RHE was observed (Fig. 1d),
suggesting favorable catalytic reaction kinetics. Although the higher
ORR performance of MXene-metal nanoparticle composites has
been successfully identified, there is a significant lack of clarity on
the function of MXenes in terms of catalytic performance. Detailed
experimental studies coupled with theoretical investigations are
urgently needed to validate the promising capabilities of MXene
materials in this field.
MXenes as supports to Fe-N-C catalysts.—A catalyst group
considered to be the most promising alternative to Pt for the ORR in
aqueous media is iron–nitrogen–carbon (Fe–N–C) catalysts. Carbon-
based materials are usually applied as a matrix for Fe-N-C as they
can provide abundant defects to incorporate FeN4 active sites.14,61,62
With regards to the carbide MXene, abundant access to the C atoms
could be provided by both basal plane cation vacancies and through
the edge sites. These exposed C atoms are possibly able to capture
the FeN4 moieties and thus could be integrated as Fe-N-C catalysts.
In addition, the various termination groups on MXenes can also offer
viability to immobilize FeN4-containing molecules to form new
active composites. Li and coworkers developed a FeNC/MXene
hybrid nanosheet through the pyrolysis of an iron–ligand complex
and Ti3C2 MXene nanosheets.63 The authors claimed that FeNC/
MXene provides better performance over Pt/C in both activity and
stability of ORR. However, an excessively low performance of the
benchmark Pt/C catalyst, relative to other studies, questions the
reliability of the electrochemical measurement in this work.
Additionally, a detailed discussion about the nature of the active
sites is missing, as there is a significantly lower content (2.7 at%) of
N in FeNC/MXene when compared with the state-of-the-art Fe-N-C
ORR catalysts.64 In another work led by Chen, Mai, and Guo, a close
interaction of FeN4 moiety and Ti3C2Tx MXene can lead to a
twofold activity improvement of pristine Fe–N–C.60 The researchers
achieved a self-assembly of iron phthalocyanine (FePc) and Ti3C2Tx
MXene in dimethylformamide solution under ultrasonication. As
indicated in Fig. 1e (Fe 2p3/2 and Fe 2p1/2 peaks obtained from X-ray
photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)), narrow scans shifted toward
higher energy after incorporating FePc with Ti3C2Tx, suggesting
a decrease in the local electron density of Fe centers caused by
the electron transfer between FePc and Ti3C2Tx. Furthermore, the
ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) revealed that the
electron density of FeN4 active sites become lower at the Fe(II)
center while accumulating at the nitrogen ligands, inducing an Fe 3d
electron delocalization (Fig. 1f). The authors attributed this to the
support effects of Ti3C2Tx MXene, which contains abundant
hydroxyl and fluorine termination groups with high electronega-
tivity. The reduced local electron density and higher spin state of the
Fe(II) centers significantly enhanced the ORR performance, as
shown in Figs. 1g–1i. A more positive half-wave potential E1/2 of
the MXene (≈0.88 V vs RHE) corresponds to its higher intrinsic
ORR activity (Fig. 1g). Figure 1h presents the comparison of the
kinetic current densities (Jk) of the three tested catalysts at two
potentials and FePc/Ti3C2Tx exhibited the highest current density in
both potentials. As seen in Fig. 1h, the calculated electron transfer
numbers through H2O2 yield are close to 4, indicating a 4-electron
reduction pathway. Therefore, in terms of MXene composites with
single atom metal coordinated sites like FeN4, the vacancy/defect
engineering of the MXene could enable rational designs with high
catalytic performance.65 For future studies on the use of Fe-N-C
MXenes in ORR, there should also be evaluation on the stability of
these catalysts for long term applications.
Iron-cluster-directed cationic Fe−N−C nanosheets (Zeta poten-
tial of 30.4 mV) have been assembled with anionic Ti3C2 MXene to
produce a superlattice-like heterostructure for ORR in alkaline
media by Zhu and Chen’s group.66 The electrically-driven assembly
method is shown in Fig. 2a. From results that show promising ORR
activity and stability, this work provides a new strategy to
incorporate Fe-N-C catalysts with MXene materials.
MXenes as supports to defected carbon materials.—Aside from
transition metal-based catalysts, defected carbon materials attached
to the MXene also behave as catalytically active materials for ORR
in alkaline media.68 For example, Lei and Zhang’s group synthe-
sized a porous and N-rich carbon/MXene composite as an ORR
catalyst.67 Polypyrrole was used as a precursor for N doping, leading
to high N content up to 9.6 wt%. As shown in Figs. 2b–2e, Ti3C2
MXene is observed to be well incorporated into the amorphous
carbon structure. The formed N-containing voids and pores, shown
in Fig. 2f, are proposed to be the active site of the ORR. However,
the function of the MXene in accelerating the ORR in this composite
is not discussed in detail, and the overall enhancement of electrical
conductivity is yet to be evaluated. Future work in this area should
also involve the long-term stability of the catalyst in aqueous media.
A summary of the MXene catalysts used for ORR in alkaline media
is presented in Table I.57,63,69–72
Future considerations of MXene-based catalysts for alkaline
ORR.—It is important to note that most of the MXene ORR works in
alkaline electrolytes covered in this review are based on the titanium
MXene phases. For long-term operation of this specific electro-
catalytic fuel system, oxidative stability of these MXenes in alkaline
media should be taken into account, in addition to the electro-
chemical durability. A work by Lutkenhaus, Radovic, and Green73
demonstrates that Ti3C2Tx MXene undergoes a loss of conductivity
and significant oxidation when stored in aqueous solution for
1–2 weeks. Another work by the groups74 shows that MXene
oxidation is accelerated in basic media (such as KOH) by their
reaction with hydroxyl anions, offsetting the reduction in the over-
potential provided by alkaline electrolytes. Specifically, the aqueous
dispersions were shown to undergo rapid decreases in pH values after
the first two days due to the rapid uptake of hydroxyl anions. XPS
data for Ti3C2Tx show that the MXenes stored in KOH exhibit a
higher atomic percentage of Ti(IV) component than those stored in
HCl, indicating a faster transition from MXene nanosheets to TiO2 in
alkaline media. It is unknown to what extent these findings will apply
specifically to MXene-supported catalysts and its specific coupling
interaction. Therefore, all of the MXene electrocatalytic alkaline
 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2022 169 063513

Figure 1. (a). SEM image and (b). TEM image of Co/N-CNTs@Ti3C2Tx. (c). Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) curves for different samples at a rotation rate of
1600 rpm in O2-saturated 0.1 M KOH solution (d). Peroxide yield (black) with regard to the total oxygen reduction products and the electron-transfer number (n)
(red) of Co/N-CNTs@Ti3C2Tx in O2-saturated 0.1 M KOH at 1600 rpm. Reproduced with permission from Ref. 59. Copyright (2018) WILEY-VCH Verlag
GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim. (e). Fe 2p XPS and (f). UPS spectra of pristine FePc and FePc/Ti3C2Tx (g). LSV curves and (h). kinetic current density (Jk) at
0.9 and 0.85 V vs RHE of pristine FePc, FePc/Ti3C2Tx, and Pt/C (i). Percentage of H2O2 released and electron transfer numbers (n) of pristine FePc and
FePc/Ti3C2Tx. Reproduced with permission from Ref. 60. Copyright (2018) WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

ORR works should be tested for their long-term oxidative stability.
Also, many previous studies discussed in the review from Singh’s
group42 have mentioned the problem of carbon supports on catalyst
particles in terms of erosion. If the MXene supports become eroded due
to oxidation, then they are hypothesized to fall into the aforementioned
problem. All of the provided benefits, including proper catalyst
particle dispersion, modified electronic structure, enhanced charge
transfer, strong coupling interaction, and enhancement of active
electrochemical surface area, are hypothesized to be nullified.
Regardless of the actual effect, a future direction concerning
Ti3C2Tx MXene-based ORR catalysts in alkaline media could be
on the attempts in successfully incorporating antioxidants that slow
down the oxidation process.74
An important aspect to mention in regards to the oxidation of
Ti3C2TX MXene is the simultaneous formation of TiO2 as a
byproduct of the oxidation reaction mechanism in aqueous media.5
Because TiO2 is reported to be an effective 2e− ORR electrocatalyst,
there is postulation of how this simultaneous formation on the
MXene-based catalyst affects the overall electrocatalytic perfor-
mance and selectivity. While a work by Sun’s group demonstrates
the performance of TiO2 as 2e− electrocatalyst involved in the
production of H2O2 in 0.1 M KOH, there is a considerably low
electrocatalytic performance.75 Thus, the issue concerning the
selectivity of the 4e− ORR path over the 2e− ORR path is not
deemed to be of great importance. From the aforementioned finding,
the oxidation of the Ti3C2Tx MXene to form TiO2 and C signifies
material degradation.
ORR in Acidic Electrolytes
The ORR in acidic electrolytes is considered to be the main
bottleneck preventing the large-scale application of PEMFCs. As
previously mentioned, the standard reduction potential of ORR is up
to 1.229 V vs SHE in acidic media (when pH approaches zero),
which is much higher than that in alkaline media. Due to the high
overpotential required for the O2/O2− redox couple in acidic media,
 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2022 169 063513

Figure 2. (a). Scheme of Fe-cluster-directed synthesis of 2D/2D Fe−N−C/MXene superlattice-like heterostructure. Reproduced with permission from Ref. 66.
Copyright (2020) American Chemical Society. (b). HR-TEM micrograph, (c). inverse FFT image of the selected area, (d). auto-correlation image of the inverse
FFT image and (e). of the selected area for the of the MXene@PPy composite. (f). Structure and position of the pores and voids in N-doped C. Reproduced with
permission from Ref. 67. Copyright (2020) IOP Publishing Limited.

only certain specific catalyst surfaces, such as Pt which offers facile
adsorption for O2, are able to catalyze the ORR. Therefore, there are
grand challenges and limitations encountered for the development of
non-Pt ORR catalysts in acidic media. More importantly, for all
known catalysts synthesized thus far, the harsh acidic environment
brings upon long-term stability issues. Even for the state-of-the-art
Pt/C or PtCo/C catalysts, the dissolution of Pt or the loss of Co in the
PtCo alloy/intermetallic during operation of the fuel cell is a critical
hindrance.8,76 In the last decade, extensive investigation has led to
M-N-C catalysts being determined as one of the most promising
PGM-free catalysts for ORR in acidic media.15,16,62 For example,
NiS2 nanosheets were synthesized and tested as an ORR catalyst and
attained 98% H2O2 selectivity.6 Even though they have shown a
promising initial activity of ORR in aqueous electrolytes or even in
membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), they exhibit a lower
stability compared with that of commercial Pt/C. Therefore, the
engineering and synthesis of other types of catalysts for the ORR in
acidic media is required.
Table I. Summary table of the different types of MXene-based ORR electrocatalysts as they are investigated in the 0.1 M KOH alkaline electrolyte.

# e– per O2

Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2022 169 063513

MXene-Based Catalyst Onset Potential (V vs RHE) Half- Wave Potential (V vs RHE) H2O2 yield (%) ORR Electrocatalyst Performance References

Pt/Ti3C2Tx 0.95 0.853 3.7 — 99.4% retention of current density after 1,500 ADT 69
cycles at 0.6 V
8.0% decrease of half-wave potential after 1500
ADT cycles
Co-CNT/Ti3C2Tx — 0.82 3.9 <5 10% decay in current after 10,000 s chronoam- 57
perometry test
Co/N-CNTs@Ti3C2Tx 0.936 0.815 3.8 < 15 11 mV loss of half-wave potential after 5,000 cycles 70
7.6% decay in current after 20,000 s chronoam-
perometry test
Fe-N-C/Ti3C2Tx 1.0 0.814 3.9 − 4.0 — 2.6% current loss after 20,000 s 63
11 mV loss of half-wave potential after 10,000
cycles
FePc/Ti3C2Tx 0.97 0.88 4 <1 74% of current density remains after 5,000 s 71
N-doped C/Ti3C2 0.85 0.71 — — 13.8% activity loss after 8,000 s continuous ORR 72
test
 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2022 169 063513

MXenes as supports to Pt-based catalysts.—Owing to their
unique properties, MXenes are able to address the aforementioned
problems, and play a revolutionizing role in this application.
MXenes have been theoretically investigated as a support for
different active sites for ORR, specifically in acidic media. Yang
and coworkers systematically investigated a series of MXene
supported Pt catalysts using density functional theory (DFT)
calculations, regarding their physical properties, structural stability,
and ORR/OER catalytic activity.77 Strong metal-support interactions
were demonstrated to lead to high structural stability, in which the
lattice parameters of MXenes play a critical role for controlling the
morphology and stability of these composites. Wei and coworkers
reported a systematic screening of single-atom Pt ORR/OER
catalysts supported by MXene materials, demonstrating that the
vanadium (V), titanium (Ti), niobium (Nb), and chromium (Cr)
based MXenes are promising supports for single-atom Pt.78
Particularly, fluorine (F)-terminated ones exhibit ORR/OER bifunc-
tional catalytic performance. Liu and Li studied the termination
effects of Pt/v-Tin+1CnT2 (where v- denotes Ti vacancy) single-
atom/MXene surfaces for their overall ORR performance.79 Similar
results are observed for F-terminated surfaces, which are proposed to
show a better performance for ORR but have a lower durability than
the O-terminated counterparts because of the weaker chemical
bonding. Yang and coworkers proposed a method to tune the ORR
performance of Ti2CO2 MXene-supported Pt catalysts through
controlling the cluster size of Pt nanoparticles.80 Ptn (n = 1–4) and
Pt3Au alloy subnano-clusters supported on a defective Ti2CO2
monolayer with oxygen vacancies (denoted as v-Ti2CO2) are used
as the model catalysts. Figures 3a–3d depicts the projected density of
d-states (PDOSs) of different Pt/MXene (or PtAu/MXene) surfaces,
and it can be seen that an increasing number of d-band states of Pt is
observed with the increase of Pt atoms, suggesting a gradually
increased binding strength of the adsorbates. Furthermore, the
introduction of Au causes a lower d-band center of Pt in
Pt3Au/v-Ti2CO2, leading to a weaker binding strength of the
oxygenated intermediates during ORR process. With further
detailing, the PDOSs of the three bottom Pt atoms and tipped Pt
and Au atoms of Pt4/v-Ti2CO2 and Pt3Au/v-Ti2CO2, a critical role
emerges for the bottom Pt3 layer in promoting the adsorption
capability of the tipped metal Pt (or Au). Through confirmation by
the geometric structures, Mulliken charge analysis, and the density
of states, the adsorption strength of O-containing intermediates
increases with more Pt atoms in the clusters. In this manner, the
Pt3Au/v-Ti2CO2 surface is predicted to be a promising ORR catalyst
in acidic media with a low overpotential of 0.46 V. In another work
by Yang and Wu, a series of composites of transition-metal (TM)
monolayers (Ni, Pd, Pt, Cu, Ag, and Au) on V2C MXene were
designed and analyzed as potential catalysts for ORR using DFT
(Fig. 3e).81 As shown in Figs. 3f–3k, a significant amount of electron
transfer from V2C to the TM monolayer due to strong metal-support
interactions (SMSI) is observed through Mulliken charge analysis.
The transferred electrons are proposed to fill the TM d-orbitals and
cause strong hybridizations between the d orbitals of TM and V
atoms, as evidenced by the DOSs plotted in Figs. 3f–3k. As a result,
Pd, Pt, Ag, and Au deposited V2C all exhibited promising activity
and high chemical stability during ORR, which are attributed to the
modified electronic structure of these composites coming from
SMSI.
Due to the corrosive environment and higher overpotential in
acidic media, Pt is one of the few favorable materials for the ORR.
Wei and coworkers applied Ti3C2X2 (X = OH, F) nanosheets as
supports to produce Pt catalysts.82 When compared with Pt/C, an
enhanced stability during ORR operation in acidic media was
observed through accelerated durability tests (ADT) between 0.6
to 1.1 V vs RHE. Another means of enhanced stability was observed
through the possibility of electron transfer between the MXene
support and Pt nanoparticles, as evidenced by the XPS spectra. In a
similar work by Zhou’s group,69 the researchers compared the
activity and stability of Ti3C2Xx supported- Pt catalysts for the
ORR in both the acidic and alkaline media. Their results indicated
that the Pt/Ti3C2Xx catalyst shows better ORR performance under
the alkaline media than under the acidic media, raising the concern

Figure 3. The PDOS of (a). Pt/v-Ti2CO2, (b). Pt3/v-Ti2CO2, (c). Pt4/v-Ti2CO2 and (d). Pt3Au/v-Ti2CO2. The positive and negative values represent the PDOSs
of the spin-up and spin-down channels, respectively. The total PDOSs are denoted by the black full lines; the PDOSs of the three bottom Pt atoms in
Pt4/v-Ti2CO2and Pt3Au/v-Ti2CO2are denoted by the orange full lines; the PDOSs of the tipped Pt and Au atoms are denoted by the blue and green full lines,
respectively. The d-band center of supported Pt atoms connected to O is also shown in units of eV. The Fermi level is denoted by a black vertical dotted line.
Reproduced with permission from Ref. 80. Copyright (2020) The Royal Society of Chemistry (e). A schematic of MXene-supported transition metals with strong
metal–support interactions. Partial DOSs and average Mulliken charge populations (in ∣e∣/atom) for f. NiML/V2C, (h). PdML/V2C, (j). PtML/V2C, (g).
CuML/V2C, (i). AgML/V2C, and (k). AuML/V2C, respectively. The dotted line at zero represents the Fermi level. Reproduced with permission from Ref. 81.
Copyright (2020) American Chemical Society.
 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2022 169 063513

of its structural stability under such harsh conditions. Kasak and
coworkers designed a spontaneous reduction method to synthesize
Pt/MXene composites, and highlighted the important role of NaBH4
in reducing the Pt precursor gently without compromising the
structure of the MXene supports.83
Restacking is a common problem for many 2D materials,
including ML MXene supports for the deposition of metal nano-
particles, particularly for Pt/Ti3C2Tx. However, it is only of concern
with the MXene material when it is in the ML morphology rather
than the SL morphology. Complete delamination of the ML MXene
can help in the application of MXenes as supports, as it results in the
exposure of the sub-surface for deposition, and an increased number
of layers for surface metal deposition. Simultaneously, intermediate
products could also be trapped between the layers of the ML
structure, resulting in a mix of 2e− and 4e− processes occurring,
leading to a lowered selectivity. For example, Pt/Ti3C2Tx involves
3.71 e− transferred per O2 molecule in alkaline media but 3.13 in
acidic medium.69 Xu et al. designed and synthesized MXene and
carbon nanotube hybrid-supported Pt catalysts, in which the CNTs
are known to mitigate restacking.84 As shown in Fig. 4a, a uniform
dispersion and narrow size distribution of Pt nanoparticles were
observed on the MXene-carbon nanotube hybrid supports.
Electrochemical characterizations demonstrated that the introduction
of carbon nanotube could significantly improve the ORR
performance. Through DFT calculations, the authors attributed the
role of the carbon nanotube to two aspects. First, it could facilitate
the O2 dissociation on the catalyst composite, improving the overall
ORR performance. Additionally, the distortion of the Pt cluster
could be alleviated by introducing CNTs to Ti3C2Tx (Figs. 4c and
4d), benefitting the catalytic stability.
MXenes as supports to non-precious metal-based catalysts.—
Non-precious metal single-atom catalysts are yet to be explored in
MXene ORR research. Cu single atom catalysts immobilized on
Ti2CO2 as an efficient ORR catalyst was proposed by Zhou and
Sun’s group.86 Tian and Yang’s group doped a zeolitic imidazolate
framework-8 (ZIF-8) with Fe then incorporated it with Ti3C2Tx
MXene for ORR catalysis.87 ZIF-8, a type of metal organic frame-
work (MOF), contains ZnN4 active moieties, which act as a
precursor to synthesize M-N-C catalyst for ORR. However, the
size of ZIF-8 ranges from 20 nm to 500 nm, which makes it difficult
to incorporate with multilayer MXenes. Thus, single layer MXenes
are required for this type of catalyst design. Additionally, it is
important to note that the catalyst was produced through a strategy
involving the separate pyrolysis of the Fe-N-C. The Fe-N-C was
presynthesized from ZIF-8 through pyrolysis at 1100 °C and then
further subjected to a second carbonization treatment at 350 °C
involving the Fe-N-C and Ti3C2Tx. This distinct process is important

Figure 4. (a). TEM image and particle size distribution and (b). HRTEM image of Pt/CNT-Ti3C2Xx catalyst (c). Projected DOS of d-electrons of surface Pt
atoms on MXene and CNT-MXene, excluding the edge Pt atoms. (d). Optimized geometric structures of Pt clusters on MXene and CNT-MXene, where the green
spheres represent the surface Pt atoms. Reproduced with permission from Ref. 84. Copyright (2020) American Chemical Society. (e). Aberration‐corrected
HAADF-STEM image. f-i. HAADF‐STEM image and the corresponding EDS elemental mapping. (j). WT-EXAFS plots (k). EXAFS fitting curve of
Ru-SA/Ti3C2Xx. (Inset: schematic model.) (l). High-resolution Ru 3d XPS spectrum. Reproduced with permission from Ref. 85. Copyright (2020) WILEY-VCH
Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2022 169 063513
in that typical involvement of high temperature will lead to MXene
decomposition. In spite of the lower activity compared to Pt/C, the
Fe-N-C/Ti3C2Tx catalyst exhibited excellent durability with no
attenuation after 10,000 cycles.
Another trifunctional single-atomic Ru catalyst supported by
Ti3C2Tx MXene (Ru-SA/Ti3C2Tx) was reported by Liu, Xin, and
cowerkers,85 who claimed that this catalyst can accelerate the HER,
ORR, and OER. As shown in Figs. 4e–4i, an abundant single atom
site can be identified in the HAADF-STEM image, with uniformly
distributed Ru species over the catalyst demonstrated by the
corresponding energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) elemental
mapping. In order to reveal the local atomic and electronic structure
of the Ru-SA/Ti3C2Xx, extended X-ray absorption fine structure
(EXAFS) measurements were applied. As presented in Fig. 4j,
wavelet transform (WT)-EXAFS signals corresponding to the Ru-Ru
contribution were observed in the plots of the Ru foil and RuO2, but
not in Ru-SA/Ti3C2Tx. This provides the evidence of an exclusive
existence of single-atomic Ru sites. Furthermore, the authors
proposed that the single-atomic Ru sites in Ru-SA/Ti3C2Tx are
captured and immobilized by oxygen-containing termination groups
through Ru–O bonds. Further EXAFS fitting was performed as
shown in Fig. 4k, which is in agreement with the proposed structure
of Ru-O2 (inset of Fig. 4l). The further XPS spectra confirmed that
the valence for the Ru species is approximately Ru3+. Although the
ORR performance of this catalyst is not impressive, this work
introduces a starting strategy to synthesize MXene supported single
atom catalysts and provides insights into their expected structures. A
summary of the MXene catalysts used for ORR in acidic media is
presented in Table II.87,88–90
Future considerations of MXene-based catalysts for acidic
ORR.—For all of the hybrid catalyst systems studied, they involved
carbide MXenes, either in the form of Ti3C2Tx or Ti2CTx. The work
by Lutkenhaus, Radovic, and Green74 shows that both MXenes
under acidic media (HCl) undergo oxidative losses, although not to
the extent under storage in alkaline media (KOH). Importantly,
unlike the case for alkaline media, there is no change in pH of the
electrolyte for both types of MXenes. Therefore, existing and future
works concerning the aforementioned ORR catalysts under acidic
electrolytes should take into account the oxidative loss and methods
of successfully implementing antioxidants that slow down the
oxidation. As with the case for alkaline electrolytes, the hypothe-
sized potential effects from the erosion of MXene support due to
oxidation and restacking of the multilayer Ti3C2Tx should be
considered. Finally, more research should be devoted to non-carbide
MXenes such as nitrides, which appear to be more stable in aqueous
environments.
MXenes for Metal-Oxygen Batteries
The ORR plays a crucial role in the technological development of
metal-oxygen battery cathodes.91,92 MXenes have shown to be
potential candidates for these cathodes.
Heterogenous MXenes.—Xu and coworkers designed a compo-
site consisting of MXene and two-dimensional organic framework
for Na−O2 batteries,93 in which lower overpotentials for both OER
and ORR were proposed. It was determined that the potential charge
transfer between the layer structures was proposed to promote the
electrical conductivity and adsorption energy to Na+. In another
work by Ihme,94 Alireza and coworkers concluded that controlling
the vacancy concentration on the MXene surface could help in
enhancing the ORR performance. When analyzing surface termina-
tion groups, a higher O:F ratio on the functionalized Ti4N3 catalyst
can reduce the overpotential significantly. A similar work of Yao
and Huang’s group also reported on the Ti2C MXene for Li-O2
batteries.95 Although all of these works show promising results of
the MXene, it is of importance to consider the complicated system
involving the electron/mass transfer, product management, and
unexpected side reactions. Therefore, future experimental studies
that take careful consideration of these issues are required.
Similar to the ORR catalysts applied to fuel cell technology,
MXene materials are usually first hybridized with other active
species, and the resulting composite functions as a cathode for
metal-oxygen batteries. Long’s group deposited oxygen vacancy-
rich SnO2 on a Ti3C2Tx MXene for lithium-oxygen batteries.96 The
resulting modulation of electronic structure provided by the oxygen
vacancies is favorable for optimizing the adsorption energy of the
composite towards various intermediate species. Additionally, the
oxygen vacancy-rich SnO2 and Ti3C2Tx helps induce electronic
interaction through the heterogeneous interfaces, enhancing the
interfacial charge transfer and thus leading to a lower overpotential
for both ORR and OER. Similarly, Chen’s group deposited nitrogen-
doped cobalt selenide nanocrystals on Ti3C2Tx MXenes for Zn-air
batteries.97 Wang, Zhu, and other coworkers reported a NiCo2O4
nanocrystal/MXene hybrid for Zn-air batteries, which are strongly
coupled through in-situ Ni/Co-F bonds.98 The F terminations on the
MXene were demonstrated to stabilize the NiCo2O4 nanoparticles.
XPS and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) were
applied to investigate the electronic structure and coordination
environment of the material. The Ni/Co−F bond was found in the
F 1s spectrum as shown in Fig. 5a. In addition, a negative shift of
the photoenergy peak L3 for both Co and Ni was observed in
Figs. 5b and 5c. This indicates the existence of a strong coupling
effect between the MXene and NiCo2O4, thus resulting in the
enhancement of charge transport and electrocatalytic activity.
Regarding the battery performance, the NiCo2O4 loaded Zn-air
battery exhibited a high peak power density up to 277 mW cm−2
(Fig. 5d), suggesting a high activity of the engineered cathode at a
large current density. Promising rechargeability and cyclic durability
were also demonstrated with minimized degradation after 1000
cycles and 333 h (Fig. 5e). On another work by Zhi’s group, a
Mn3O4-Ti3C2 composite was also studied for efficient ORR and Zn-
air battery performance.99
It has been reported by Lutkenhaus, Radovic, and Green that after
exposure to air for 27 days, Ti3C2Tx loses ∼93% of its original
conductivity and forms TiO2-x,73 which is known to be an effective
2e− ORR bifunctional catalyst for H2O2.5 While there is a possibility
of this conversion forming an effective 2e- ORR catalysis, such a
promise is downplayed by the fact that the aforementioned catalytic
activity of TiO2-x is only observed under alkaline media (0.1 M
KOH).102 Because it is uncertain how TiO2-x will react and perform
electrocatalytically in air, the exact nature of the effect of oxidation
of Ti3C2Tx MXene into TiO2-x should be investigated. There is
greater uncertainty in how this oxidation effect will apply to Ti3C2Tx
MXene-supported catalyst cathodes in metal-air batteries. Further
investigations regarding Ti3C2Tx MXenes as cathodes in metal-air
batteries will need to look more into this aspect by evaluating the
electrocatalytic performance over time.
Pristine MXenes.—Pristine MXenes have also demonstrated to
be active in catalyzing the ORR in metal-oxygen batteries. Zhang,
Han, and Dang’s group developed a uniform O-terminated Nb2C
MXene cathode material for lithium–oxygen batteries.101 A large
capacity of 19785.5 mAh g−1 at 200 mA g−1 (Fig. 5g), attributed to
the lamellar structure of MXenes and their abundant O termination
active sites, was obtained. Comparing the galvanostatic first-cycle
profiles between few-layer (F-Nb2C) and multilayer (M-Nb2C)
MXenes (Fig. 5f), the F-Nb2C MXene cathode shows significantly
higher first discharge/charge capacity, lower discharge/charge over-
potentials for ORR/OER process, and greater round-trip efficiency.
Additionally, through DFT calculations, the reaction mechanism was
discussed. As shown in Fig. 5h, there are two reaction pathways on
the Nb2CO2 surface, both with a two-electron ORR and the same
ΔG = −5.39 eV. The effect of MXene termination groups on the
reaction performance and the mechanism of the lithium-oxygen
battery, both experimentally and theoretically, were also carefully
investigated. Although this work provides future insights for detailed
Table II. Summary table of the different types of MXene-based ORR electrocatalysts as they are investigated in the 0.1 M HClO4 acidic electrolyte.

Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2022 169 063513

MXene-Based
Catalyst Onset Potential (V vs RHE) Half- Wave Potential (V vs RHE) # e– per O2 H2O2 yield (%) ORR Electrocatalyst Performance References

Pt/Ti3C2Tx — 0.847 — — 15.66% loss in initial ECSA after 10,000 ADT 88

cycles
Pt/CNT-Ti3C2Tx — 0.876 3.7 — 9 mV loss of half-wave potential after 2,000 89
cycles
8.7% decay in current after 15,000 s chronoam-
perometry test
6% drop in ECSA after 2,000 ADT cycles
Fe-N-C/Ti3C2Tx — 0.777 3.8 − 4.0 — 11 mV loss of half-wave potential after 10,000 87
cycles
Ru/Ti3C2Tx 0.87 0.75 3.82 — 10 mV loss of half-wave potential after 2,000 90
cycles
7% decay in current after 9,000 s chronoampero-
metry test
 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2022 169 063513

Figure 5. (a). Deconvoluted XPS spectra of F 1 s for NiCo2O4/MXene catalyst. NEXAFS spectra of (b). Co L-edge, (c). Ni L-edge for various catalysts (d).
Charge and discharge polarization curves and the corresponding power density (e). Galvanostatic discharge−charge cycling curves at 5.0 mA cm−2 of the liquid
Zn-air batteries. Reproduced with permission from Ref. 100 Copyright (2020) American Chemical Society (f). Comparison of the initial discharge/charge
profiles of the lithium-oxygen batteries from 2.35 to 4.35 V for M, F-Nb2C MXene at 500 mA g−1 and M-Nb2C MXene at 200 mA g−1. (g). Initial discharge/
charge plots of F-Nb2C MXene cathode with different current density (h). Two pathways for ORR with zero electrode potential (U = 0 V), equilibrium potential
(U0) and discharge potential (UDC). Reproduced with permission from Ref. 101 Copyright (2020) WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

engineering of MXene materials as the cathode material, future
studies related to this field should take into consideration the
oxidative stability of the MXenes. For example, Nb2C is known to
undergo a rapid oxidation in air at room temperature and seems to
have the least oxidative stability out of all the MXenes in the
Nbn+1CnTz family. Future work in remedying this stability issue
should involve using an antioxidant such as ascorbic acid.103
Another route is to implement more stable MXene phases, such as
Nb4C3, as the cathode in lithium-oxygen batteries. It is hypothesized
that lithium-oxygen batteries could successfully implement ascorbic
acid on the MXene cathode and operate at different temperatures. In
the case of battery systems that have such successful implementa-
tions, oxidative durability analysis should be conducted.
Summary and Prospects
MXene materials hold promise in various electrocatalytic and
energy storage applications because of their high-surface, 2D
morphology, and tunable electronic interaction with reactants,
intermediates and products. Great progress has been achieved from
the deeper understanding of the physical and electronic properties of
MXenes through state-of-the-art characterization methods. With
rational control of the crystal facets, size, and morphology of the
catalyst materials, it is possible to maximize the exposure of active
sites, facilitate electron/mass transfer, and tailor the activity and
selectivity during electrocatalysis. For MXene-based composites,
the electrocatalytic efficiency could potentially be maximized if
the basal plane of these materials serve as the platform to capture the
active phase. In conclusion, the various electronic, structural, and
chemical properties of MXenes offer abundant space for material
and structural engineering, and knowledge advancement in electro-
catalysis.
Even with the several types of MXenes currently available,
almost all of the current works primarily focus on Ti3C2 materials.
Therefore, future works should involve finding facile and cost-
efficient methods to reliably produce other types of carbide and
nitride MXenes. For example, nitride MXenes show great potential
in different applications, including electrocatalysis. By possessing
higher electrical conductivity than carbide MXenes,104 nitride
MXenes could be even more promising to behave as an
 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2022 169 063513
electrocatalyst with enhanced electron transfer. However, there are
currently only few reports on nitride MXenes due to its difficulty in
reliable synthesis. It is worth noting that different synthesis methods
could result in different physical and chemical properties as
controlled by the surface functional groups. Therefore, these surface
termination groups should be controlled by selective wet etching
conditions and be fully characterized and quantified, as there could
be pronounced effects on the electrocatalytic properties.105
Furthermore, the structural stability of various materials should be
evaluated in terms of different electrolyte environments.
With abundant and tunable termination groups on the surface,
MXene materials hold great potential to be supports for the ORR
active site. This is the case not only for Pt or transition metal
nanoparticles, but also for single atom catalysts. Both experimental
and theoretical studies should focus more on the understanding of
the active site-support interactions. The advanced in-situ/operando
characterization could be very helpful in investigating the me-
chanism of different interactions, and thus provide insights and
guidance into the engineering of directional composites.106,107
Simultaneously, further exploration on the mechanism of ORR
based on the unique properties of MXenes is crucial to move these
technologies forward with solid progress.
ORCID
Eugenie Pranada https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9970-2034
Denis Johnson https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3392-2103
Abdoulaye Djire https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0734-5952
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