Ti3C2-MXene composite films functionalized with polypyrrole and ionic liquid-based microemulsion particles for supercapacitor applications

Abstract

Stemming from its unique structure and properties, Ti3C2-MXenes have stood out from the crowd of electrode materials due to effectively ameliorating imperfections of common ones for excellent energy storage. However, a major stumbling block in the further development of MXene-based supercapacitors is the inherent low capacities caused by severe restacking of nanosheets. Herein, we develop a simple, effective and innovative strategy, namely, introducing both polymerized polypyrrole (PPy) particles and ionic liquid (ILs)-based microemulsion particles as “dual spacers”, to fabricate functionalized Ti3C2-MXene composite films for high-performance and wide-temperature application in supercapacitors. The PPy particles acting as one “spacer” circumvent restacking issues of MXene nanosheets, while contribute to desirable capacitance of the hybrid material. ILs-based microemulsions spontaneously adsorbing onto PPy-Ti3C2Tx nanosheets are conceived to be one more liquid “spacer” for fast ion diffusion kinetics and absent electrolyte imbibition steps, which is rarely reported in previous research for MXene-based electrode materials. These features endow the composite films with excellent specific capacitance, rate capability and cycling stability between 4 °C and 50 °C. At room temperature, the symmetric supercapacitor device based on the composite films delivers a maximum gravimetric energy density of 31.2 Wh kg−1 (at 1030.4 W kg−1) and reserves 91% of the initial specific capacitance with a coulombic efficiency of 91% after 2000 cycles. All these impressive results substantiate that the composite films prepared by ingenious structure design showcase huge potentials in advanced MXene-based supercapacitors using various ionic liquid electrolytes.