Abstract
Constructing faradaic electrode with superior desalination performance is important for expanding the applications of capacitive deionization (CDI). Herein, a simple one-step alkalized treatment for in situ synthesis of 1D TiO(2) nanowires on the surface of 2D Ti(3) C(2) nanosheets, forming a Ti(3) C(2) -MXene partially derived hierarchical 1D/2D TiO(2) /Ti(3) C(2) heterostructure as the cathode electrode is reported. Cross-linked TiO(2) nanowires on the surface help avoid layer stacking while acting as the protective layer against contact of internal Ti(3) C(2) with dissolved oxygen in water. The inner Ti(3) C(2) MXene nanosheets cross over the TiO(2) nanowires can provide abundant active adsorption sites and short ion/electron diffusion pathways. . Density functional theory calculations demonstrated that Ti(3) C(2) can consecutively inject electrons into TiO(2) , indicating the high electrochemical activity of the TiO(2) /Ti(3) C(2) . Benefiting from the 1D/2D hierarchical structure and synergistic effect of TiO(2) and Ti(3) C(2) , TiO(2) /Ti(3) C(2) heterostructure presents a favorable hybrid CDI performance, with a superior desalination capacity (75.62 mg g(-1) ), fast salt adsorption rate (1.3 mg g(-1) min(-1) ), and satisfactory cycling stability, which is better than that of most published MXene-based electrodes. This study provides a feasible partial derivative strategy for construction of a hierarchical 1D/2D heterostructure to overcome the restrictions of 2D MXene nanosheets in CDI.