3D Ti₃C₂T_x aerogels with enhanced surface area for high performance supercapacitors

Two-dimensional titanium carbide as a novel electrode material has been widely researched in the field of energy storage in recent years. However, the restacking of Ti3C2Tx nanosheets is still a challenge, which largely restricts their development. Here, we employ the 3D architecture of a Ti3C2Tx aerogel to restrict the restacking of 2D Ti3C2Tx nanosheets. This special structure can not only effectively reduce the restacking of 2D materials, but also accelerate the transport of electrolyte ions in the electrode. The as-prepared Ti3C2Tx aerogel possessed a large special surface area of 108 m2 g-1 and achieved a special capacitance of 349 F g-1 which is retained even at a high scan rate of 2000 mV s-1 in the 3 M H2SO4 electrolyte, indicating an ultrahigh rate capability. Moreover, at a higher current density of 20 A g-1, 90% of the initial capacitance is also retained after 20 000 charging-discharging cycles, revealing an excellent cycling stability. Furthermore, the mechanism of charge storage was investigated.