Structure engineering of mesoporous MXenes through a general microexplosion assisted exfoliation strategy

Structure engineering gives rise to tremendous opportunities for creating materials with marvelous morphologies and properties. Limited by the unique etching preparation method and vulnerable resistance to oxidation, structure engineering of MXenes, especially, mesoporous morphology construction, remains an obstacle. Here, we put forward a facile strategy to fabricate mesoporous MXene nanosheets by microexplosion process assisted uneven sheets exfoliation and quantum dots detaching, with left structure voids acting as mesopores. The universality of proposed strategy for different MXenes, including Ti3C2, Nb2C and Ti2C, was also testified. As a concept of proof, the distinct mesostructures provide abundant active sites and improve ion diffusion kinetics, thus boosting the energy storage performance of Ti3C2 MXenes. This work not only sheds new light to the fabrication of mesoporous MXenes, but also demonstrates performance optimization through structure engineering.