Synthesis and electrochemical performance of 2D molybdenum carbide (MXene) for supercapacitor applications

In the field of supercapacitors, carbide MXenes have recently received significant attention as pseudocapacitive electrode materials due to their unique multilayered structure, high metallic conductivity, pseudocapacitive charge storage mechanism and tunable surface terminations. Herein, synthesis and electrochemical performance of 2D molybdenum carbide (Mo₂C) MXene-based electrode is presented for supercapacitor applications. Mo₂C MXene was synthesized by using simple solid-state thermal reduction technique. The crystalline structure, surface morphologies, specific capacitance, electronic conductivity and reaction kinetics of as-synthesized Mo₂C MXene were examined using XRD (X-ray diffraction) analysis, FESEM (field emission scanning electron microscopy), CV (cyclic voltammetry) and EIS (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) measurements, respectively. The hexagonal phase (with P6₃/mmc symmetry) of Mo₂C MXene was confirmed by XRD analysis. The 2D multilayered structure was displayed by FESEM results. The cyclic voltammograms revealed an efficient electrochemical performance of 2D Mo₂C MXene. Due to its high current density, large surface area and abundance of redox acive sites, MXene-based electrode displayed high specific capacitance of 916 F/g at 5 mV/s. Further, excellent electronic conductivity and minimum charge transfer resistance was observed by EIS plots. The significant electrochemical performance of Mo₂C MXene-based electrode governs its implementation for developing highly efficient supercapacitors with high energy and power densities.