In recent years, with the widespread adoption of polymeric membranes, Thin-film composite (TFC) membranes are widely adopted for water purification and desalination due to their tunable properties, though trade-offs between permeability and selectivity persist. Considerable research has focused on overcoming these limitations by incorporating nanoparticles into the membrane structure. MXene nanosheets, a rising class of 2D materials, offer exceptional hydrophilicity and interlayer spacing. MXene-based TFN membranes have demonstrated notable improvements, with reported water flux enhancements of up to ~40–70% and salt rejection levels comparable to or exceeding those of high-performance conventional TFC membranes. This review critically evaluates fabrication strategies for MXene-embedded TFN membranes, focusing on interfacial polymerization, which remains more compatible with industrial roll-to-roll processing, and layer-by-layer assembly, which offers superior control over MXene orientation but faces scalability challenges. Then, various types of MXene nanosheets and the techniques for incorporating them into TFN membranes are discussed, while particular attention is given to long-term operational stability under harsh aqueous environments. Finally, a cost analysis of MXene synthesis is presented.
Valizadeh et al. (Wed,) studied this question.