Novel synthesis and electrochemical performance of 2D molybdenum nitride (MXene) for supercapacitor application

Based on the excessive demand for the production of supercapacitors as an energy storage technology and the better electrochemical characteristics of nitride MXenes, herein the structural analysis and electrochemical behavior of molybdenum nitride (Mo2N) is presented for supercapacitor application. Two-dimensional (2D) Mo2N was synthesized by using a simple solid-state reduction-nitridation technique. The crystalline structure, surface morphologies, specific capacitance, electronic conductivity and reaction kinetics of as-synthesized molybdenum nitride were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurement and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), respectively. The XRD analysis confirmed the presence of hexagonal phase (P63/mmc) of Mo2N MXene. The FESEM results displayed the 2D multilayered structure of Mo2N MXene. The CV and EIS measurements were carried out in an aqueous 2 M KOH electrolyte, which revealed an efficient electrochemical performance of 2D Mo2N. The Mo2N MXene-based electrode was observed to exhibit a very high value of specific capacitance i.e., similar to 1272.45 F/g at an optimized scan rate, due to its large surface area, high current density, porosity, and abundance of redox acive sites. Further, the EIS plots showed minimum charge transfer resistance and excellent electronic conductivity of multilayered Mo2N MXene. Therefore, owing to these excellent electrochemical properties of 2D Mo2N MXene, it can be employed as an electrode material for high efficiency supercapacitors.