Three-dimensional Ti3C2 MXene@silicon@nitrogen-doped carbon foam for high performance self-standing lithium-ion battery anodes

• A 3-dimensional structure comprised of silicon nanoparticles assembled on an nitrogen-doped carbon foam with MXene as the cover layer (MXene@SiNPs@NC foam) is demonstrated. • The MXene layer protects the silicon nanoparticles from directly contacting the electrolyte. • The nitrogen-doped carbon foam and MXene are used as the conductive frame and covering layer, providing effective channels for electron transport/ion diffusion. • The substantial void spaces between the MXene layer and the nitrogen-doped carbon foam skeleton can accommodate the significant silicon nanoparticles volume change during lithiation/delithiation. • The self-standing and binder-free anode was used without a metal current collector. Silicon (Si) is one of the most promising anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) because of its high specific capacity. However, the poor cycling stability results from huge volume fluctuation and low intrinsic conductivity, which greatly hinders Si-based anodes development. Herein, we construct a three-dimensional structure comprised of Silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs) anchored on a nitrogen -doped carbon (NC) foam with a covered MXene layer (MXene@SiNPs@NC foam), which acts as a self-standing Si-based anode for high performance LIBs. The design of NC foam as the conductive frame and MXene as the covering layer provides effective channels for electron transport/ion diffusion, and simultaneously allows the anode to adapt to the drastic Si volume change during lithiation/delithiation. The self-standing MXene@SiNPs@NC foam electrode delivers a high specific capacity (1658 mAh g -1 after 100 cycles at 0.1 C) and a steady cycling capacity (857 mAh g -1 after 500 cycles at 0.5 C). Moreover, a full-cell constructed using MXene@SiNPs@NC foam //NCM 111 exhibits a high gravimetric energy density (433 Wh kg -1 ). This MXene@SiNPs@NC foam anode with good electrochemical performance renders as a promising candidate for broad LIBs applications.