Impact of 3D printed MXene electrodes on energy storage: Different dimensionalities, electrochemistry and performance optimization of printable MXene ink

Abstract

MXene and 3D printing technology are the pioneers of modern energy-related research. 3D printing, or, additive manufacturing has garnered a lot of devotion because of its ease of use and speed in producing simple prototypes. Nevertheless, MXenes, similar to other 2D materials, show an agglomeration tendency, which restricts electrolyte flow and utilization of the effective surface area. They easily oxidize at high anode potentials also, which additionally lowers the stability of the electrode. An effective way to overcome these problems is to rationally design and create MXene-based electrodes employing 3D printing technology for energy storage, which is a programmed-based manufacturing method that can regulate scalability, product design, and reproducibility. Additionally, there is a huge demand for printable, wearable, and stretchable electronic devices for energy storage. Regarding this, 3D printing technology has shown satisfactory potentiality for constructing high-performance energy storage electrodes and devices. Herein, the recent advancements in 3D printing technologies for constructing advanced MXene-based electrodes for energy storage applications are highlighted. Moreover, the dimensionalities and electrochemistry of different MXenes are emphasized briefly. This review also summarizes the performance optimizations for the printable MXene inks to fabricate efficient 3D-printed electrodes for supercapacitors and secondary batteries. The current application of 3D-printable MXene-based electrodes for supercapacitors and secondary batteries is extensively reviewed. Finally, this article concludes with the future directions and existing research challenges in this field.