Application of MXene in Electrochemical Sensors: A Review

Abstract

Electroanalysis has obtained considerable progress over the past few years, especially in the field of electrochemical sensors. Broadly speaking, electrochemical sensors include not only conventional electrochemical biosensors or non‐biosensors, but also emerging electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensors and photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensors which are both combined with optical methods. In addition, various electrochemical sensing devices have been developed for practical purposes, such as multiplexed simultaneous detection of disease‐related biomarkers and non‐invasive body fluid monitoring. For the further performance improvement of electrochemical sensors, material is crucial. Recent years, a kind of two‐dimensional (2D) nanomaterial MXene containing transition metal carbides, nitrides and carbonitrides, with unique structural, mechanical, electronic, optical, and thermal properties, have attracted a lot of attention form analytical chemists, and widely applied in electrochemical sensors. Here, we reviewed electrochemical sensors based on MXene from Nov. 2014 (when the first work about electrochemical sensor based on MXene published) to Mar. 2021, dividing them into different types as electrochemical biosensors, electrochemical non‐biosensors, electrochemiluminescence sensors, photoelectrochemical sensors and flexible sensors. We believe this review will be of help to those who want to design or develop electrochemical sensors based on MXene, hoping new inspirations could be sparked.

Recent Developments and Future Perspective on Electrochemical Glucose Sensors Based on 2D Materials

“…MXene is suitable for building high-performance electrochemical glucose sensors because it has high hydrophilicity due to surface termination groups (O, OH, and F), great electrical conductivities, excellent ion intercalation behavior, facile functionalization, and dependable large-scale manufacture. Several high-quality reviews on MXenes have been published to date, suggesting the applicability of MXene in sensor fabrication [ 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 ]. However, no review focused on MXene-based electrochemical glucose sensors is available so far.…”

“…Because of its outstanding stretchability and biocompatibility, MXene can be a powerful substrate for the development of flexible conductive platforms that can be used to construct wearable electrochemical glucose sensors [ 84 ].…”

Biomedical Applications of an Ultra-Sensitive Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensor Based on Smart MXene Quantum Dots (SMQDs)

“…Ti 3 C 2 , a member of the MXenes and titanium families, is used in a variety of applications, including SPR biosensors. Numerous publications on the diverse uses of Ti 3 C 2 MXenes in electrochemical and optical smart biosensors have been published [ 136 , 137 , 138 , 139 , 140 ]. Although MXenes have been widely investigated, the biosensor applications of Ti 2 C-MXenes, particularly their composites with nanoparticles, have received less attention (e.g., Au, Ag, etc.).…”

MXenes in photomedicine: advances and prospects

“…Photomedicine encompasses the application of photons in medicine for imaging or treatment of diseases. 1,2 MXenes with photothermal activity, multimodal imaging capabilities, large surface area, biocompatibility, hydrophilicity, and electrical conductivity have been widely explored for water treatment, 3 supercapacitors, 4 electrochemical sensors, 5 energy storage, 6 imaging/diagnosis, 7 photocatalysis, 8 cancer theranostics, 9 and drug delivery. [10][11][12][13] These (nano)structures with fascinating electronic features, chemical surface cessation units, and plentiful elemental makeups are attractive contenders for emergent nextgeneration of smart devices in the optoelectronic domain.…”