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1. Intercalation of Polyacrylonitrile Nanoparticles in Ti ₃ C ₂ T _x MXene Layers for Improved Supercapacitance

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c14420  

   Alonzo, Shanna_Marie M; De, Shrabani; Morris, Vanessa; Autrey, Daniel E; Gautam, Bhoj Raj; Pathiraja, Gayani; Bastakoti, Bishnu Prasad (November 2024, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces)

   We report the intercalation of polyacrylonitrile nanoparticles in Ti3C2Tx MXene layers through simple sonication. The use of polyacrylonitrile, which was synthesized via radical polymerization, offered dual benefits: (1) It increased the interlayer spacing of MXene, thereby exposing more surface area and enhancing ion transport channels during charge and discharge cycles, and (2) Integrating MXene with polyacrylonitrile enables the creation of a composite with conductive properties, following percolation principle. X-ray diffraction analysis showed an increase in the c-lattice parameter, indicative of the interlayer spacing, from 22.31 Å for the pristine MXene to 37.73 Å for the MXene−polyacrylonitrile composite. The intercalated polyacrylonitrile nanoparticles facilitated the delamination by weakening the interlayer interactions, especially during sonication. Electrochemical assessments revealed significant improvement in the properties of the MXene−polyacrylonitrile composite compared to the pristine MXene. The assembled asymmetric device achieved a good specific capacitance of 32.1 F/g, an energy density of 11.42 W h/kg, and 82.2% capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles, highlighting the practical potential of the MXene−polyacrylonitrile composite. 

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2. Interfacial charge storage synergy in erbium-oxide/MXene hybrids for advanced energy storage

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nxmate.2026.102301  

   H_Reddy, Yeshwanth; MR, Ambika; KRV, Subramanian; Naik, Hemalatha Krishna; BM, Basavaraja; BP, Srilakshmi; Ramanath, Ganpati; N, Nagaiah (July 2026, Next Materials)

   MXenes offer possibilities to simultaneously realize fast electron and ion transport, but need increased capacitance and cycling stability for use in supercapacitor electrodes. However, restacking of Ti3C2 MXene layers limits ion accessibility, capacitance, and cycling stability. Here, we demonstrate superior electrochemical response in nanocomposites with hydrothermally synthesized Er2O3 nanoparticles on nanofacets of selectively-etched Ti3C2 MXenes. These nanocomposites exhibit five-fold higher capacitance of 2758 F g􀀀 1 at 1 A g􀀀 1 and a 7% greater stability than pristine Ti3C2 MXenes. Asymmetric supercapacitors exhibit nearly tripled energy density of 113.13 Wh kg􀀀 1 at a two-fold power density of 659.03 W kg􀀀 1 when benchmarked against pristine MXenes. Quantum capacitance from literature reported density of states, trasatti’s and power-law analyses indicate that the enhanced properties arise from synergistic coupling of double-layer capacitances in MXene and Er2O3, and pseudocapacitance from an interplay of redox-activities. These insights from our findings should inform and pave way for the rational design of MXene/rare-earth-oxide nanocomposites for efficient and durable supercapacitor electrodes. 

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3. Architecting MXenes in polymer composites

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2024.101830  

   Cao, Huaixuan; Neal, Natalie N; Pas, Savannah; Radovic, Miladin; Lutkenhaus, Jodie L; Green, Micah J; Pentzer, Emily B (June 2024, Progress in Polymer Science)

   The major challenge to fabricate MXene/polymer composites are the processing conditions and poor control over the distribution of the MXene nanosheets within the polymer matrix. Traditional ways involve the direct mix of fillers and polymers to form a random homogeneous composite, which leads to inefficient use of fillers. To address these challenges, researchers have focused on the development of ordered MXene/polymer composite structures using various fabrication strategies. In this review, we summarize recent advances of structured MXene/polymer composites and their processing-structure-property relationships. Two main forms of MXene/polymer composites (films and foams) are separately discussed with a focus on the detailed fabrication means and corresponding structures. These architected composites complement those in which MXenes nanosheets are isotropically dispersed throughout, such as those formed by aqueous solution mixing approaches. This review culminates in a perspective on the future opportunities for architected MXene/polymer composites. 

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4. 2D MXene-containing polymer electrolytes for all-solid-state lithium metal batteries

   https://doi.org/10.1039/C8NA00206A  

   Pan, Qiwei; Zheng, Yongwei; Kota, Sankalp; Huang, Weichun; Wang, Shijun; Qi, Hao; Kim, Seyong; Tu, Yingfeng; Barsoum, Michel W.; Li, Christopher Y. (January 2019, Nanoscale Advances)

   Nanocomposite polymer electrolytes (CPEs) are promising materials for all-solid-state lithium metal batteries (LMBs) due to their enhanced ionic conductivities and stability to the lithium anode. MXenes are a new two-dimensional, 2D, family of early transition metal carbides and nitrides, which have a high aspect ratio and a hydrophilic surface. Herein, using a green, facile aqueous solution blending method, we uniformly dispersed small amounts of Ti 3 C 2 T x into a poly(ethylene oxide)/LiTFSI complex (PEO 20 -LiTFSI) to fabricate MXene-based CPEs (MCPEs). The addition of the 2D flakes to PEO simultaneously retards PEO crystallization and enhances its segmental motion. Compared to the 0D and 1D nanofillers, MXenes show higher efficiency in ionic conductivity enhancement and improvement in the performance of LMBs. The CPE with 3.6 wt% MXene shows the highest ionic conductivity at room temperature (2.2 × 10 −5 S m −1 at 28 °C). An LMB using MCPE with only 1.5 wt% MXene shows rate capability and stability comparable with that of the state-of-the-art CPELMBs. We attribute the excellent performance to the 2D geometry of the filler, the good dispersion of the flakes in the polymer matrix, and the functional group-rich surface. 

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5. Unveiling the quantum capacitance of Zr3C2T2 (T = O, F) for high-performance Zn-ion hybrid supercapacitors

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2025.239039  

   Huzaifa, Muhammad; Ali, Muneeb; Mahsud, Ayaz; Nur-e-Alam, Mohammad; Heinz, Hendrik; Ul-Haq, Zaheer (February 2026, Journal of Power Sources)

   The design and development of advanced energy storage systems with both long cycling life and high-power densities has long been a research hotspot. Zinc-ion hybrid supercapacitors (ZHSCs) are regarded as emerging and highly promising candidates, combining the advantages of both supercapacitors and zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs). The widespread use of zinc-ion aqueous systems in ZIBs is due to the abundance, high specific capacity (>800 mAh/g), and low toxicity of zinc. In this work, we demonstrate that oxygen- and fluorine-terminated zirconium-based MXenes (Zr3C2O2/Zr3C2F2) can act as reversible zinc-ion hosts for ZHSCs. Based on the density functional theory (DFT) calculations, Zr3C2O2 presents exceptional electrochemical performance, featuring a maximum quantum capacitance CQ of 1519 μF/cm2 in aqueous systems, and Zr3C2F2 a value of 1510 μF/cm2. In ionic/organic systems, the maximum CQ of Zr3C2F2 dominates. The findings suggest that Zr3C2O2 and Zr3C2F2 are suitable for both aqueous and ionic/organic electrolytes of hybrid supercapacitors. Similarly, both MXenes showed superior theoretical specific capacity and a suitable open-circuit voltage range, which are characteristics of advanced electrodes. These insights provide a theoretical foundation that may inform the future development of MXene-based ZHSCs with enhanced power density and cycling stability. 

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