3D- Printed MXene Composites for Batteries

Lithium-ion battery and supercapacitor-based energy storage technologies have become indispensable in electric vehicles and small electronic gadget applications. In recent years, a new large family of two-dimensional transition metal carbides, carbonitrides, and nitrides, the so-called MXenes, have attracted considerable attention, owing to the diverse possibility of the elemental compositions, surface terminations, large surface-area-to-volume ratio, and rapid ion-diffusion channel. High-quality MXene nanosheets with large lateral sizes exhibited excellent surface-active sites and a high surface-to-volume ratio, directly reinforcing the LIB electrode material. However conventional electrode fabrication techniques lead to the deformation of the morphological and physical characteristics. Also, the synthesis, fabrication, and lab-scale performance of MXene have not been efficiently transferred to industrial production due to scalability challenges. Furthermore, micro and biocompatible batteries/supercapacitors face constraints due to fabrication/manufacturing difficulties. In this chapter, the synthetic procedures of MXenes and MXene-based composites, and physical and chemical property customizations for 3D printing purposes, including Inkjet printing, Extrusion printing, Screen printing, and perspectives for future research are discussed comprehensively. In addition, the recent advances and uniqueness in 3D printed MXenes and MXene composites for energy storage applications and challenges are also highlighted.