Ta4C3‑Modulated MOF-Derived 3D Crosslinking Network of VO2(B)@Ta4C3 for High-Performance Aqueous Zinc Ion Batteries

• Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces Vol. 15; no. 10; pp. 13554 - 13564
• Main Authors: Liu, Weicai, Zong, Hui, Li, Mengshu, Zeng, Ziquan, Gong, Shijing, Yu, Ke, Zhu, Ziqiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 15.03.2023
• Subjects: Functional Nanostructured Materials (including low-D carbon); aqueous zinc ion battery; composite structure; Ta4C3 MXene; cathode material; DFT calculations; VO2(B)
• ISSN: 1944-8244; 1944-8252
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c23314

A two-dimensional MXene (Ta4C3) was innovatively used herein to modulate the space group and electronic properties of vanadium oxides, and the MXene/metal–organic framework (MOF) derivative VO2(B)@Ta4C3 with 3D network cross-linking was prepared, which was then employed as a cathode to improve the performance of aqueous zinc ion batteries (ZIBs). A novel method combining HCl/LiF and hydrothermal treatments was used to etch Ta4AlC3 to obtain a large amount of accordion-like Ta4C3, and the V-MOF was then hydrothermally grown on the surface of the stripped Ta4C3 MXene. During the annealing process of V-MOF@Ta4C3, the addition of Ta4C3 MXene liberates the V-MOF from agglomerative stacking, allowing it to show additional active sites. More significantly, Ta4C3 prevents the V-MOF in the composite structure from converting into V2O5 of space group Pmmn but into VO2(B) of space group C2/m after annealing. A considerable advantage of VO2(B) for Zn2+ intercalation is provided by the negligible structural transformation during the intercalation process and the special tunnel transport channels, which have an enormous area (0.82 nm2 along the b axis). According to first-principles calculations, there is a strong interfacial interaction between VO2(B) and Ta4C3, which deliver remarkable electrochemical activity and kinetic performances for the storage of Zn2+. Therefore, the ZIBs prepared with the VO2(B)@Ta4C3 cathode material exhibit an ultra-high capacity of 437 mA h·g–1 at 0.1 A·g–1 while showing good cycle performance and dynamic performance. This study will offer a fresh approach and a reference for creating metal oxide/MXene composite structures.