MXene is a new ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) family, and many water-softening companies demand membranes made of this material for desalination seawater. MXene possess physicochemical properties that have increased its attention and are gaining popularity in various industrial application. MXene is made by stacking two synthesized atomic-thin MXene nanosheets together. Moreover, MXene exhibits unique properties, such as high hydrophilicity, high water flux, and salt rejection efficiency. MXene has also been proven to show long-term stability and performance in seawater systems. Therefore, this summary strives to explain what MXene is and its benefits to society.
The world population has taken an upward trajectory which means that the required resources, such as food and water, are increasing in demand to meet the population’s needs. Fresh water in the country has already become a severe problem requiring seawater desalination to provide safe water for drinking and domestic use. The stress posed by the high population in the country on the water systems is a matter that has to be dealt with accordingly (Liu et al. 558). As such, MXene is a membrane that was developed to aid the pervaporation of desalination. Freshwater can be derived from seawater through desalination technologies, such as Multi-stage flash (MSF) and Reverse Osmosis (RO). The two desalination technologies, such as high power and pressure demands, faced challenges. MXene’s working principle does not differ from other semipermeable membranes as both prevent the penetration of volatile organic materials, thereby producing pure water that may be difficult with simple evaporation techniques. Therefore, MXene has been reported as a new alternative for seawater desalination.
Inasmuch as membrane processes play a vital role in pervaporation desalination, MXene, a high-performance membrane, is the most preferred as pure water derivation from seawater is concerned. Other membranes made of different materials are also available in the market. These membranes include polymers, inorganic materials, and polymer-inorganic materials. These types of membranes are also developed for the same purpose as MXene. These membranes have been tested, and it has been proved that they have high ion rejection with low flux. According to Liu et al., membrane efficiency is measured with the water flux; polymer and inorganic membranes have lower pervaporation desalination efficiency (550). Moreover, MXene may provide higher working efficiency, but further research is underway to develop membranes with high water flux efficiencies surpassing human imagination.
However, the invention of graphene has enhanced the idea of two-dimensional materials. Today, graphene materials for the 2D membrane are still under research, and soon, a higher-performing membrane will be launched. Other materials, such as carbides and nitrides, which were discovered by Gogotsi and Barsoum (Liu et al. 555), define MXene membrane with a general formula of Mn+1XnTx where n can either be 1,2 and 3, and letter M represents early transitional metal. Letter T in the formula stands for carbon and nitrogen.
In conclusion, the increasing human population across the globe is threatening most naturally occurring resources, such as water and food. Humans and other living animals demand more clean water sources, which are unavailable due to pollution resulting from human activities. Therefore, there has been a need to employ desalination technologies to derive pure water from seawater. Although the article presents several membranes that can be used to accomplish these membrane processes, MXene has surpassed all in performance. Furthermore, several pieces of research are underway to develop a higher-performing membrane that aids the derivation of pure water from seawater.
Work Cited
Liu, Guozhen, et al. “Ultrathin Two-Dimensional Mxene Membrane for Pervaporation Desalination”. Journal Of Membrane Science, vol. 548, 2018, pp. 548-558.