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Red-shifted and broadened Raman peaks of MoS₂reveal the strain and doping effects from Ti₃C₂MXene as a substrate. 

Innovative TiNbO_xnano-heterostructure oxides as promising catalysts in municipal wastewater treatment. 

Abstract Currently, over 60% of the world's population lives in cities. Urban living has many advantages but there are also challenges regarding the need for smart urbanization. The next generation of tunable 2D nanomaterials, called MXenes, is the critical enabling technology that can bring the current urban thinking to the next level, called a smart city. The smart city is a novel concept based on a framework of self‐sufficient technologies that are interactive and responsive to citizens’ needs. In this perspective, MXene‐enabled technologies for sustainable urban development are discussed. They can advance self‐sufficient, adaptive, and responsive buildings that can minimize resource consumption, solving the deficiency of essential resources such as clean energy, water, and air. MXenes are at the cutting edge of technological limitations associated with the Internet of Things (IoT) and telemedicine, combining diverse properties and offering multitasking. It is foreseen that MXenes can have a bright future in contributing to the smart city concept. Therefore, the roadmap is presented for demonstrating the practical feasibility of MXenes in the smart city. Altogether, this study promotes the role of MXenes in advancing the well‐being of citizens by raising the quality of urban living to the next level. 

Abstract Lithium‐ion and sodium‐ion batteries (LIBs and SIBs) are crucial in our shift toward sustainable technologies. In this work, the potential of layered boride materials (MoAlB and Mo₂AlB₂) as novel, high‐performance electrode materials for LIBs and SIBs, is explored. It is discovered that Mo₂AlB₂shows a higher specific capacity than MoAlB when used as an electrode material for LIBs, with a specific capacity of 593 mAh g⁻¹achieved after 500 cycles at 200 mA g⁻¹. It is also found that surface redox reactions are responsible for Li storage in Mo₂AlB₂, instead of intercalation or conversion. Moreover, the sodium hydroxide treatment of MoAlB leads to a porous morphology and higher specific capacities exceeding that of pristine MoAlB. When tested in SIBs, Mo₂AlB₂exhibits a specific capacity of 150 mAh g⁻¹at 20 mA g⁻¹. These findings suggest that layered borides have potential as electrode materials for both LIBs and SIBs, and highlight the importance of surface redox reactions in Li storage mechanisms.