Should We Overlook MXenes for Water Splitting? A Critical Review of Synthesis, Applications, and Future Prospects

ABSTRACT Electrocatalytic water splitting is an essential technology for transitioning to a green energy‐powered world. However, balancing the cost, scalability, and stability of the electrocatalyst remains a significant challenge. MXenes are a family of metal carbides and nitrides that are among the newly discovered materials, garnering worldwide attention from researchers due to their excellent electronic conductivity, versatile and tunable structure, and hence enabling tunable chemistry. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of MXene‐based electrocatalysts, bridging material design and real‐world engineering applications. It aims to provide a comparative evaluation of MAX phase and MXene synthesis strategies, and it then discusses the mechanism of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) to explain fundamental design principles based on Density Functional Theory (DFT). Subsequently, the performance of MXenes as electrocatalysts for both the OER and HER is critically assessed. Finally, it presents a thorough discussion to address critical engineering challenges that hinder widespread industrial adoption, including scalability, electrode architecture, mass transport, and material stability at industry‐scale parameters. This review provides a roadmap for the further development of MXenes by critically analyzing previous laboratory‐scale reports on MXenes.