Two-dimensional transition metal carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides, known as MXenes, were discovered in 2011, have grown to prominence in energy storage, catalysis, electromagnetic interference shielding, environmental and biomedical applications. In addition to their conductive and electrochemically active behavior, MXenes’ mechanical properties, flexibility, and strong adhesion properties play a crucial role in almost all of these growing applications. Although these properties prove to be critical in MXenes’ impressive performance, the mechanical and tribological understanding of MXenes as well as their relation to the synthesis process is yet to be fully explored. This presentation aims at shedding some light on MXenes’ mechanical and tribological properties with a particular focus on the effects of MXenes’ compositions, synthesis, and processing steps on these properties. Additionally, this presentation will demonstrate some successful case studies of MXenes’ application regarding low-friction surfaces as well as water purification to remove Arsenic contamination.

Acknowledgements
Andreas Rosenkranz gratefully acknowledges the financial support given by ANID within the project Fondecyt 11180121 and Fondequip EQM 190057. In addition, the financial support of the University of Chile within the project U-Inicia 013/2018 is gratefully acknowledged.