Electrochemical Characteristics of 2-Dimensional Titanium Carbide(MXene)/Silicon Anode Composite Prepared by Electrostatic Self-assembly

In this study, the MXene/Si composite was prepared by electrostacic assembly with 2-dimensional structured titanium carbide (MXene) and nano silicon for anode material of high-performance lithium-ion battery. Ti3C2Tx MXene was synthesized by etching the Ti3AlC2 MAX with LiF/HCl, and the surface of nano silicon was charged to positively using CTAB (Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide). The MXene/Si anode composite was successfully manufactured by simple mixing process of synthesized MXene and charged silicon. The physical and electrochemical properties of prepared composite were investigated with MXene-silicon composition ratio, and the surface of electrode after cycles was analyzed to evaluate stability of the electrode. The MXene/Si composites demonstrated high initial discharge capacities of 1962.9, 2395.2 and 2504.3 mAh/g as the silicon composition ratio increased to 2, 3 and 4 compared to MXene, respectively. MXene/Si-4, which is MXene and silicon ratio with 1 : 4, exhibited 1387.5 mAh/g of reversible capacity, 74.5% of capacity retention at 100 cycles and high capacity of 700.5 mAh/g at high rate of 4.0 C. As the results, the MXene/Si composite prepared by electrostatic-assenbly could be applied to anode materials for high-performance LIBs.