Materials scientists at Drexel University have discovered a new method for making the material that is used in the electrodes of energy storage devices like batteries and super capacitors. This clay-like material, made from etched MXene and water, is not only easier and safer to produce than current electrode material, it’s also has twice the capacitance!
Three reasons it is good:
1. It’s hydrophilic. That means, unlike graphene, it loves water. And that’s good news because it means…2. It’s very malleable. You can mold it into complicated forms, or roll or press it very flat – both of which are potentially very handy for a material with conductivity supposedly up there with metals.
3. The material has a very healthy capacitance of 900 F/cm3 – and that’s basically at the first attempt. The team has done nothing to improve that performance. But perhaps more intriguing still is the claim that MXene lost no capacitance after more than 10,000 charge cycles.
