Synthesis of an MXene/polyaniline composite with excellent electrochemical properties

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Vol. 8; no. 12; pp. 5853 - 5858
• Main Authors: Xu, Huizhong, Zheng, Dehua, Liu, Faqian, Li, Wei, Lin, Jianjian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 28.03.2020
• Subjects: Aniline; Capacitance; Conducting polymers; Electrochemical analysis; Electrochemistry; Electrode materials; Electrodes; Electron transport; Energy storage; Ion transport; Monomers; MXenes; Polyanilines; Polymerization; Polymers; Retention; Sheets
• ISSN: 2050-7488; 2050-7496
• DOI: 10.1039/d0ta00572j

As a family member of MXenes, Ti 3 C 2 T x has received worldwide interest due to its excellent electrochemical energy storage properties. However, freestanding Ti 3 C 2 T x films synthesized by direct assembly of two-dimensional (2D) sheets have relatively low specific capacitance and rate capability due to the low ion transport efficiency between Ti 3 C 2 T x (MXene) sheets. Here, we demonstrate an effective method to improve the electrochemical performance of MXene-based electrodes by incorporating MXene sheets with conducting polymers. A Ti 3 C 2 T x /polyaniline (MXene/PANI) composite was fabricated by chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline monomers on the surface of Ti 3 C 2 T x sheets. Benefiting from the highly conductive open structure, efficient ion and electron transport and high electrochemical activity of Ti 3 C 2 T x and PANI, the MXene/PANI electrode presents a maximum specific capacitance of 556.2 F g −1 at a current density of 0.5 A g −1 , an impressive rate capability (high capacitance retention of 78.7% at 5 A g −1 ) and excellent cycling stability with a high capacitance retention of 91.6% after 5000 cycles at 5 A g −1 . Therefore, this paper provides a facile and effective method to achieve high performance MXene-based electrode materials for supercapacitors. We synthesized a new MXene/PANI composite by chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline monomers with enhanced electrochemical performances.