Sonochemical self-growth of functionalized titanium carbide nanorods on Ti3C2 nanosheets for high capacity anode for lithium-ion batteries

Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal carbides (MXenes) have been considered a promising electrode material in energy storage devices due to their outstanding electrical conductivity, excellent electrochemical performance and unique surface terminations. Herein, with inspiration from the interesting functional structure of layered MXene, we report an efficient and facile sonochemical method to synthesize an anode material; functionally activated titanium carbide nanorods grown on Ti3C2 MXene nanosheets (FTCN-MXene) in deionized water and dimethylformamide mixture. In a striking contrast to pristine Ti3C2Tx MXene, FTCN-MXene exhibits outstanding specific anode capacity of 1,034 mAh/g, high coulombic efficiency (98.78) after 250 cycles, and excellent reversible cyclic stability (retention of 96.05). Functionalized nanorods grown on metallic conducting Ti3C2 sheets create more active sites and surface area, improving Li ion insertion/extraction capability. This study opens new avenues for developing functionalized MXene-based electrode materials with enhanced performance for electrochemical energy storage devices and systems.