Surface Selenization Strategy for V₂CT MXene toward Superior Zn-Ion Storage

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• MXenes are promising cathode materials for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) due to their unique properties.
• Conventional methods for enhancing MXene capacity are often complex and difficult to control.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a facile one-step surface selenization strategy for creating advanced MXene-based nanohybrids.
• To improve the capacity and stability of MXene materials for AZIBs.

Main Methods:

• Surface selenization of various MXenes (V2CTx, Ti3C2Tx, Nb2CTx) to form transition metal selenide (TMS)@MXene nanohybrids.
• Characterization of the nanohybrids' structure and electrochemical performance in AZIBs.
• Experimental and simulation studies to understand the mechanism of enhanced zinc-ion storage.

Main Results:

• The strategy successfully produced VSe2@V2CTx, TiSe2@Ti3C2Tx, and NbSe2@Nb2CTx nanohybrids.
• VSe2@V2CTx demonstrated high-rate capability (132.7 mA h g-1 at 2.0 A g-1) and excellent cyclability (93.1% retention after 600 cycles).
• The nanohybrids exhibited significantly improved Zn-ion diffusion coefficients and structural stability.

Conclusions:

• The one-step surface selenization is a facile and effective method for developing high-performance MXene-based cathode materials.
• The resulting TMS@MXene nanohybrids offer a promising pathway for advanced aqueous metal-ion batteries.
• This strategy provides a controllable approach to overcome the limitations of traditional MXene modification techniques.