Three-dimensional interconnected ultrathin manganese dioxide nanosheets grown on carbon cloth combined with Ti3C2Tx MXene for high-capacity zinc-ion batteries

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) are receiving a continuously increasing attention for the flexible and wearable electronics, due to their non-toxicity, non-flammability, and low-cost features. The development of high-performance flexible cathodes is of great significance to the development of flexible ZIBs. In this work, the flexible electrode of three-dimensional (3D) interconnected ultrathin MnO2 nanosheets on carbon cloth (CC@MnO2) coated with Ti3C2Tx MXene (CC@MnO2@MXene) is prepared by electrodeposition and dipping methods, in which CC@MnO2 is put into MXene dispersion for impregnation treatment to make the CC@MnO2 fibers wrapped with MXene completely. The results show that the coating of MXene improves the conductivity of the composite, and the interface between MXene and MnO2 provides more active sites. Therefore, CC@MnO2@MXene-10 electrode as the cathode of zinc ion battery provides high charge storage performance (517.0 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1), excellent cycling stability (80.6 mAh g-1 after 800 cycles at 1 A g-1) and excellent energy density (701.3 Wh kg-1 at 133.8 W kg-1). Finally, flexible quasi-solid battery based on CC@MnO2@MXene composite as cathode was assembled, and the flexible electrodes show potential for application.