ZnO nanoparticle-decorated two-dimensional titanium carbide with enhanced supercapacitive performance

In this work, a sandwich-like structure of ZnO nanoparticle-decorated two-dimensional Ti3C2 has been synthesized by the direct precipitation method and a subsequent heat-treatment process. During the synthesis procedure, ZnO nanoparticles are uniformly distributed on the surface and interlayer of Ti3C2 sheets, which effectively prevents the restacking of Ti3C2 sheets and forms a sandwich-like structure. Serving as a supercapacitor electrode, the electrochemical performances of the as-prepared Ti3C2/ZnO were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. These results show that the as-synthesized Ti3C2/ZnO delivers an improved specific capacitance of 120 F g(-1) at 2 mV s(-1) and excellent cycling stability with the capacitance retained at 85% after 10 000 cycles at 5 A g(-1). The good electrochemical performances of Ti3C2/ZnO indicate that this metal oxide/two-dimensional layered nanocomposite has promising potential in supercapacitor applications.