Ag decorated 3D honeycomb-like MXene architecture as an advanced lithium-ion anode material towards high capacity and long-term cycle capability

MXenes, a distinct class of two-dimensional metal carbides, are pursued to be promising potential for driving applications of lithium-ion storage with remarkable flexibility and conductivity. However, the electrochemical behavior of MXene-based anodes is far from reaching a satisfactory level due to severe interlayer stacking in MXenes, which immensely deteriorates the intrinsic conductivity in bulk and hampers the kinetic transport of Li+ resulting in significant capacity fading as well as inferior rate capability. Hence, we proposed an effective tactic to significantly boost the electrochemical ability by constructing a hollow MXene/Ag composite comprised of 3D honeycomb-like MXene with Ag nanoparticles. Melamine formaldehyde (MF), the sacrificial template followed by thermal decomposition, can effectively transform 2D MXene nanosheets into a 3D hollow structure. Accordingly, rational 3D honeycomb-like MXene/Ag composite exhibits impressive rate performance and enhanced cycling stability of 310 mAh/g after 2000 cycles at 3 A/g with availably suppressing anode swelling, compared to pristine 2D MXene nanosheets, evincing the potentiality as a desirable anode for excellent electrochemical behavior lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).