Radiation preparation of MXene/graphene oxide composite aerogel for supercapacitor

MXene/graphene oxide (GO) composites have broad application prospects in fields, such as energy, environment, and biomedicine. In this study, few-layer Ti3C2Tx was mixed with GO, which was then reduced and surface-modified using γ-ray radiation. Simultaneously, a composite hydrogel (M/rGO) was prepared by self-assembly from the interaction between the surface groups of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and the oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface of Ti3C2Tx. The M/rGO-75 composite hydrogel prepared at an absorbed dose of 75 kGy exhibited a uniform three-dimensional network structure. The hydrogel was further freeze-dried and annealed to remove surface oxygen-containing functional groups and prepare a new composite aerogel (H-M/rGO), which maintained the original network structure. The prepared H-M/rGO electrode was used as a supercapacitor electrode. The optimized and synthesized H-M/rGO-75 composite aerogel exhibited a mass-specific capacitance of 119 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g, which was significantly higher than those of GO and aerogels without MXene. In addition, it exhibited excellent rate performance, conductivity, and cycling stability.