High Capacity Silicon Anodes Enabled by MXene Viscous Aqueous Ink

Utilization of Li-ion chemistry to store the energy electrochemically can address the ever-increasing demands from both portable electronics and hybrid electrical vehicles. This chapter shows that two-dimensional titanium carbide or carbonitride nanosheets, known as MXenes, can be used as a conductive binder for silicon electrodes produced by a simple and scalable slurry-casting technique without the need of any other additives. Traditionally, electrode additives are made of dual components based on a conductive agent. Si powders were ground with MXene aqueous inks to give concentrated, homogenous and viscous slurry, which can be coated onto Cu foil using an industry-compatible slurry-casting technique without adding any polymeric binders or CB. MXene nanosheets well wrap the Si particles, forming a point-to-plane contact and improving the electrochemical performance, unlike the point-to-point contact between the nSi and CB particles.