Tailoring Structure, Composition, and Energy Storage Properties of MXenes from Selective Etching of In‐Plane, Chemically Ordered MAX Phases

Abstract

The exploration of 2D solids is one of our time's generators of materials discoveries. A recent addition to the 2D world is MXenes that possses a rich chemistry due to the large parent family of MAX phases. Recently, a new type of atomic laminated phases (coined i‐MAX) is reported, in which two different transition metal atoms are ordered in the basal planes. Herein, these i‐MAX phases are used in a new route for tailoriong the MXene structure and composition. By employing different etching protocols to the parent i‐MAX phase (Mo 2/3 Y 1/3)2 AlC, the resulting MXene can be either: i) (Mo 2/3 Y 1/3)2 C with in‐plane elemental order through selective removal of Al atoms or ii) Mo 1.33 C with ordered vacancies through selective removal of both Al and Y atoms. When (Mo 2/3 Y 1/3)2 C (ideal stoichiometry) is used as an electrode in a supercapacitor—with KOH electrolyte—a volumetric capacitance exceeding 1500 F cm−3 is obtained, which is 40% higher than that of its Mo 1.33 C counterpart. With H 2 SO 4, the trend is reversed, with the latter exhibiting the higher capacitance (≈1200 F cm−3). This additional ability for structural tailoring will indubitably prove to be a powerful tool in property‐tailoring of 2D materials, as exemplified here for supercapacitors.