Synergistic integration of MXenes-MOFs: Advances, challenges, and opportunities in catalytic CO₂ conversion

The escalating global energy crisis and environmental challenges have accelerated the pursuit of advanced materials with precisely tunable properties. Among emerging candidates, hybrid composites integrating MXenes and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have garnered considerable attention owing to their synergistic functionalities and complementary advantages. MXenes are two-dimensional transition metal carbides, nitrides, or carbonitrides exhibit exceptional electrical conductivity, hydrophilicity, and mechanical robustness, while MOFs offer ultrahigh surface areas, hierarchical porosity, and structural versatility. Nevertheless, the intrinsic low conductivity and mechanical fragility of pristine MOFs hinder their broader applicability. The rational integration of MXenes with MOFs can effectively mitigates these limitations, enabling enhanced stability, charge transfer, and catalytic activity. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in the synthesis strategies, structural engineering, and physicochemical characteristics of MXenes-MOFs hybrids, with particular emphasis on their applications in catalytic CO₂ conversion to value-added chemicals. The key synthetic methodologies including etching, delamination, intercalation, and controlled MOFs assembly are critically discussed, along with persistent challenges such as achieving uniform interfacial coupling and long-term stability. Finally, the review outlines future perspectives on leveraging MXenes-MOFs composites to advance sustainable CO₂ reduction technologies and energy conversion systems.