V2CTx-MXene/winery waste derived carbon-VO2/V2C-MXene aerogel based high-performance cathode for quasi-solid-state Zn-ion batteries

Abstract

Biomass-derived carbon aerogels with heterostructure integrity have more reactive sites than pure carbon due to structural distortions. Herein, layered V<inf>2</inf>CT<inf>x</inf> MXene was integrated with winery waste-derived activated carbon to fabricate a hierarchical porous V<inf>2</inf>C/VO<inf>2</inf>–N-doped carbon (V<inf>2</inf>C/VO<inf>2</inf>-NC) aerogel through an agarose-assisted carbonization process. Leveraging the additional active sites, V<inf>2</inf>C/VO<inf>2</inf> promotes high Zn-ion adsorption capacitance through its hierarchical porous structure, and the carbon integrity maximizes conductivity and stability. The V<inf>2</inf>C/VO<inf>2</inf>-NC aerogel outperforms V<inf>2</inf>CT<inf>x</inf> MXene and activated carbon with a wider potential window (0.2–1.6 V), high specific capacity (457.8 mA h g−1 at 0.2 A g−1), excellent cyclic stability (83.7 % capacity retention at 10 A g−1 after 5000 cycles), and high-rate capacity (297.9 mA h g−1 at 2 A g−1). Hierarchical porous V<inf>2</inf>C/VO<inf>2</inf>-NC aerogel-based quasi-solid-state Zn-ion batteries offer excellent energy density, adaptability, and stability, achieving 1500 cycles with 100 % columbic efficiency. This study presents a sustainable biomass-derived route for fabricating hierarchical porous MXene/carbon-based aerogel hybrids, offering a promising pathway towards next-generation electrode materials for high-performance wearable energy storage devices. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd.