Antibacterial properties and underlying mechanisms of Mo ₂ TiC ₂ T _<i>x</i> and Mo ₂ Ti ₂ C ₃ T _<i>x</i> MXenes targeting <i>Escherichia coli</i> (Gram-negative bacterium)

MXenes. A 1 h sonication of MXene solutions reduced their flake sizes (average lateral size of 234 ± 163 nm) and led to substantial improvement of their antibacterial performance by bolstering the availability of nanoknives for physical damage to bacterial cells. However, prolonged sonication (2 h) resulted in reduced antibacterial effectiveness, potentially due to morphological defects of MXene flakes. We also studied the metal ion release and disc inhibition zone, which revealed no direct correlation between the MXenes' antibacterial properties and the leaching of ions or fragments. This study demonstrates the potential for improving the antibacterial effectiveness of molybdenum-containing DTM MXenes by controlling their chemical and structural characteristics.