MXene-bonded activated carbon as a flexible electrode for high-performance supercapacitors

Lanyong Yu, Longfeng Hu, Babak Anasori, Yi-Tao Liu, Qizhen Zhu, Peng Zhang, Yury Gogotsi,* and Bin Xu*

We report a strategy to employ two-dimensional Ti₃C₂T_x MXene as a flexible, conductive, and electrochemically active binder for one-step fabrication of MXene-bonded activated carbon as a flexible electrode for supercapacitors in an organic electrolyte. In this electrode, the activated carbon particles are encapsulated between the MXene layers, eliminating the need for insulative polymer binders. MXene plays a multifunctional role in the electrode, including as a binder, a flexible backbone, a conductive additive, and an additional active material. The synergetic effect of MXene and activated carbon constructs a three-dimensional conductive network and enlarges the distance between the MXene layers, greatly enhancing the electrode capacitance and rate capability. As a result, the flexible MXene bonded activated carbon electrode exhibits a high capacitance of 126 F g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹ and a retention of 57.9% at 100 A g⁻¹ in an organic electrolyte, which is required for developing high-performance, flexible supercapacitors.