Hollow Ti3C2 MXene/Carbon Nanofibers as an Advanced Anode Material for Lithium‐Ion Batteries

Lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) are rechargeable batteries that have attracted great interest as next‐generation energy storage devices that will lead future energy technologies because of their various excellent advantages. Two‐dimensional (2D) MXene‐based LIBs have been actively investigated because of their high energy/power density and good performance at high charge/discharge rates. However, three major limitations of 2D MXene electrodes – self‐stacking, low specific surface area, and disturbance of Li+ diffusion by surface terminations – have hindered the commercialization of MXene‐based LIBs. Herein, we fabricate 1D hollow Ti3C2Tx MXene/carbon (MX/C) nanofibers via an electrospinning process and use them as anode materials in LIBs. Compared with the pristine 2D MXene (MX) paste electrode and MXene/carbon (MX/C) paste electrode, the hollow MX/C nanofibers electrode exhibits a greater specific surface area, less self‐stacking of flakes, and surface functional groups tailored for LIBs. The LIBs based on the hollow electrode exhibit a higher energy density (306.5 mA h g−1 at 40 mA g−1) than those with the MX paste electrode (81.08 mA h g−1 at 40 mA g−1) and MX/C paste electrode (196.9 mA h g−1 at 40 mA g−1). In addition, the hollow MX/C nanofiber electrode shows a high reversible capacity, proving that it is a promising anode material for LIBs. In a spin: One‐dimensional hollow Ti3C2Tx MXene/carbon nanofibers are obtained by utilizing a electrospinning process. The hollow MX/C nanofibers with tailored surface terminations and an increased specific surface area show improved electrochemical performance in binder‐free Li‐ion batteries.