Abstract
The scarcity of water resources and the deterioration of water quality have become critical environmental and social challenges. Rivers, lakes, and groundwater are increasingly contaminated due to industrial, agricultural, and domestic activities, with pollutants including heavy metals, organic dyes, pharmaceutical residues, microplastics, and pathogenic microorganisms. Such contamination disrupts ecosystems, threatens biota, and poses risks to human health. Conventional water treatment methods, such as sedimentation, chlorination, adsorption, and ion-exchange resins, are often insufficient for the complete removal of complex or highly concentrated pollutants. Consequently, membrane-based technologies have emerged as a promising approach, offering molecular-level separation, low energy consumption, and environmentally safe operation. Recently, composite membranes based on MXene and nanocellulose have attracted significant attention. MXenes, twodimensional carbides and nitrides derived from MAX phases, possess a layered structure, high electrical conductivity, hydrophilicity, and functional surface groups, enhancing ion separation efficiency and adsorption of organic contaminants. Nanocellulose, a biodegradable nanomaterial, improves the mechanical strength, stability, and biocompatibility of membranes, while also increasing selectivity and antifouling performance. The combination of MXene and nanocellulose exhibits a synergistic effect: nanocellulose prevents aggregation of MXene layers, and strong interfacial interactions protect membranes from defects. This synergy enables efficient removal of salts, heavy metals, organic dyes, pharmaceutical residues, and microplastics, while the layered structure and functional groups ensure long-term stability and high performance. This review highlights the properties of MXene and nanocellulose, methods for fabricating composite membranes, their structural characteristics, and potential applications in water purification. The study underscores the potential of nextgeneration membrane technologies as environmentally safe, highly efficient, and durable solutions for sustainable water treatment, demonstrating both scientific significance and practical relevance.