MXenes
are promising cathode materials for aqueous zinc-ion batteries
(AZIBs) owing to their layered structure, metallic conductivity, and
hydrophilicity. However, they suffer from low capacities unless they
are subjected to electrochemically induced second phase formation,
which is tedious, time-consuming, and uncontrollable. Here we propose
a facile one-step surface selenization strategy for realizing advanced
MXene-based nanohybrids. Through the selenization process, the surface
metal atoms of MXenes are converted to transition metal selenides
(TMSes) exhibiting high capacity and excellent structural stability,
whereas the inner layers of MXenes are purposely retained. This strategy
is applicable to various MXenes, as demonstrated by the successful
construction of VSe2@V2CT
x
, TiSe2@Ti3C2T
x
, and NbSe2@Nb2CT
x
. Typically, VSe2@V2CT
x
delivers high-rate capability (132.7 mA
h g–1 at 2.0 A g–1), long-term
cyclability (93.1% capacity retention after 600 cycles at 2.0 A g–1), and high capacitive contribution (85.7% at 2.0
mV s–1). Detailed experimental and simulation results
reveal that the superior Zn-ion storage is attributed to the engaging
integration of V2CT
x
and VSe2, which not only significantly improves the Zn-ion diffusion
coefficient from 4.3 × 10–15 to 3.7 ×
10–13 cm2 s–1 but also
provides sufficient structural stability for long-term cycling. This
study offers a facile approach for the development of high-performance
MXene-based materials for advanced aqueous metal-ion batteries.
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