Fluorine-free treatment of Ti3AlC2 for supercapacitor electrode material

A new supercapacitor electrode material Ti 3 C 2 T X @Al (T = OH, O) derived from Ti 3 AlC 2 is prepared by partly removing aluminum using alkali etching method at 40 °C. The reserved aluminum can not only ensure high interlayer conductivity but also prevent the structure from collapsing. The effect of etching time is investigated, the sample Ti 3 C 2 T X @Al obtained after etching 36 h in sodium hydroxide exhibits the best electrochemical performance among the series of samples. In 1M H 2 SO 4 , the material shows a high specific capacitance of 587 F g −1 at the current density of 1 A g −1 , and 173 F g −1 at 10 A g −1 . A low capacitance loss can be observed (0.0025% one cycle) after 6000 cycles test at the current density of 20 A g −1 . It implies that the material Ti 3 AlC 2 which etching in sodium hydroxide for 36 h may be a promising candidate for energy storage material, and this simple synthesis method can also be applied to other MAX members.