Molecular engineering assembly of mesoporous carbon onto Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>T<sub><i>x</i></sub> MXene for enhanced lithium‐ion storage
Haitao Li, Fengting Lv, Xiao Fang, Guanjia Zhu, Wei Yu, Haijiao Zhang
Abstract
Abstract The rational construction of Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene‐based composites has been deemed as a popular way to improve their electrochemical energy storage performances owing to the unique two‐dimensional (2D) structure, excellent conductivity, and good flexibility. However, it remains a major challenge to assemble mesoporous carbon onto Ti 3 C 2 T x with fewer oxygen‐containing groups by using surfactants with short hydrophilic segments. In the work, we propose a molecular engineering assembly strategy for the growth of N,P co‐doped mesoporous carbon onto Ti 3 C 2 T x nanosheets (NPMC/Ti 3 C 2 T x ) under the assistance of phytic acid by using melamine‐formaldehyde resin and pluronic P123 (PEO 20 PPO 70 PEO 20 ) as the carbon/nitrogen source and soft template, respectively. The detailed investigations reveal that phytic acid with abundant hydroxyl groups can effectively enhance the hydrogen bond interactions among P123, carbon precursor, and Ti 3 C 2 T x nanosheets, thus ensuring the efficient assembly of mesoporous carbon onto Ti 3 C 2 T x . The obtained NPMC/Ti 3 C 2 T x composite demonstrates a set of merits, including cylindrical mesopore, N,P co‐doping, and a good combination of mesoporous carbon and Ti 3 C 2 T x nanosheets. As a result, it exhibits an improved lithium‐ion storage performance, delivering a high reversible capacity of 556.3 mA h g −1 after 100 cycles at 0.1 A g −1 . The present work provides a feasible molecular engineering assembly route for the rational design of high‐performance Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene‐based electrodes.