Three-dimensional interconnected ultrathin manganese dioxide nanosheets grown on carbon cloth combined with Ti3C2Tx MXene for high-capacity zinc-ion batteries

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) are receiving a continuously increasing attention for the flexible and wearable electronics, due to their non-toxicity, non-flammability, and low-cost features. The development of high-performance flexible cathodes is of great significance to the development of flexible ZIBs. In this work, the flexible electrode of three-dimensional (3D) interconnected ultrathin MnO 2 nanosheets on carbon cloth (CC@MnO 2 ) coated with Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene (CC@MnO 2 @MXene) is prepared by electrodeposition and dipping methods, in which CC@MnO 2 is put into MXene dispersion for impregnation treatment to make the CC@MnO 2 fibers wrapped with MXene completely. The results show that the coating of MXene improves the conductivity of the composite, and the interface between MXene and MnO 2 provides more active sites. Therefore, CC@MnO 2 @MXene-10 electrode as the cathode of zinc ion battery provides high charge storage performance (517.0 mAh g −1 at 0.1 A g −1 ), excellent cycling stability (80.6 mAh g −1 after 800 cycles at 1 A g −1 ) and excellent energy density (701.3 Wh kg −1 at 133.8 W kg −1 ). Finally, flexible quasi-solid battery based on CC@MnO 2 @MXene composite as cathode was assembled, and the flexible electrodes show potential for application.