Few‐Layer Mxene Ti₃C₂T_x (T=F, O, Or OH) for Robust Pulse Generation in a Compact Er‐Doped Fiber Laser

Abstract

MXenes, recently developed two‐dimensional (2D) materials, comprise 2D transition metal carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides and have variable properties. In particular, accordion‐like structures of MXene have highly tunable and tailorable optoelectronic properties, which indicates that they can be applied in broadband optical devices. However, due to the complex synthesis process, the saturable absorber (SA) properties of MXene have not been fully explored and widely applied until now. In this article, the characterization of few‐layer MXene nanosheets has been systematically performed. Furthermore, the MXene dispersion is utilized as a SA without any polymer and applied in a compact integrated Er‐doped fiber laser at 1.5 μm to generate a robust, high average power pulse. The proposed robust pulsed laser has minimum pulse width of 1.37 μs under average output power of 40 mW and the corresponding pulse energy is 305 nJ, which is higher than previous experimental results. Considering the merits of MXene Ti3C2Tx, in the generation of large energy pulses, our work could be a novel method to optimize photonic devices.

Recent Progress of Rechargeable Batteries Using Mild Aqueous Electrolytes

“…The biggest advantage of metallic Zn over Li, Na, K is that metallic Zn is relatively stable and redox reversible in aqueous medium (although Mg, Al are stable in water, their electrodeposition is not thermodynamically feasible in aqueous electrolytes), [68,69] so it can be directly used as anode in aqueous electrolyte. [70] And the theoretical capacity is 820 mAh g −1 , [71,72] which is much larger than any other ion storage anode materials (either insertion/extraction or organic electrodes). On the other hand, due to a high overpotential for hydrogen evolution, metallic Zn possesses the low redox potential (−0.76 V vs SHE) [46] in aqueous electrolyte without obvious hydrogen evolution.…”

“…Not only used in the zincion battery, it is also widely used in "hybrid aqueous battery systems," which are usually composed of Zn anode, Li/Na ion (or other metal ions) storage cathode materials, and aqueous electrolyte containing Zn ion and Li/Na ion (or other metal ions). [71,73] Small Methods 2019, 3, 1800272 Here, y > z > n. Reproduced with permission. [46] Copyright 2016, Macmillan Publishers Ltd.…”

“…However, the commercial application of metallic Zn anode in secondary battery has been hindered by the zinc dendrite and low plating/stripping efficiency. [33,71,72] Zinc dendrite is serious especially in alkaline electrolyte, such as alkaline Zn/Mn, Zn/ Ni, and Zn/air secondary battery. Take Zn/Ni alkaline battery as an example, Zn↔Zn(OH) 4 2− and NiOOH↔Ni(OH) 2 redox couples are responsible for anode and cathode reaction, respectively.…”

Highly Reversible Phase Transition Endows V6O13 with Enhanced Performance as Aqueous Zinc‐Ion Battery Cathode

“…Among the advanced rechargeable battery chemistries, aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) have attracted much attention in recent years due to the Zn anode features: abundant resources, high theoretical specific capacity (819 mA h g À1 ), high redox potential (À0.76 V vs standard hydrogen electrode [SHE]), and multivalent charge carrier. [6][7][8][9] In addition, the aqueous system is advantageous for its high safety and low cost, which is of significance for the large-scale application in the energy storage system. [10] Recently, much effort has been devoted to investigate cathode materials targeting enhanced electrochemical behavior, especially in vanadium-based [6,[11][12][13][14][15][16] and manganese-based materials.…”

Dendrite Growth Suppression by Zn2+‐Integrated Nafion Ionomer Membranes: Beyond Porous Separators toward Aqueous Zn/V2O5 Batteries with Extended Cycle Life

“…[15][16][17][18][19][20][21] Although other chemistries based on Al/Al 3þ and Mg/Mg 2þ have been proposed, [22][23][24] the Zn/Zn 2þ systems are considered to be the leading candidate due to the high theoretical capacity (820 mAh g À1 ), low redox potential (À0.76 V vs standard hydrogen electrode [SHE]), natural abundance, and low cost of Zn metal. [25][26][27][28] Despite the availability of efficient cathode materials, the AZIBs often suffer from severe performance deterioration during prolonged cycling. The inferior life-span of AZIBs originates due to the dendritic growth of Zn deposits in the metallic anode during cycling.…”