Laser fabrication of MXene-based planar micro-supercapacitors

Abstract

This mini-review summarizes recent advances in MXene-based planar micro-supercapacitors fabricated by laser technologies. Laser ablation enables ultrafast maskless patterning, laser cutting achieves mechanically adaptive flexible arrays, and laser modification optimizes microstructure and surface chemistry. Representative studies, performance correlations, and prospects for scalable, high-energy-density MSCs are highlighted.

Keywords: MXene; laser ablation; laser cutting; laser modification; planar supercapacitors.

FIGURE 1

Fabrication of MXene-based planar supercapacitors using the laser technologies. (a) Fabrication process of planar MXene-based supercapacitors via laser ablation. The process began with spray-coating an L-Ti₃C₂T_x layer as the current collector, followed by deposition of an s-Ti₃C₂T_x electroactive film. The electrodes were then patterned by laser ablation, and a PVA/H₂SO₄ gel electrolyte was applied to complete the MSC device. Reproduced from (Peng et al., 2016) with permission of Royal Society of Chemistry. (b) Photographs of interdigital electrodes. Reproduced from (Li et al., 2020) with permission of WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim. (c) Photograph of wafer-scale planar MXene-based supercapacitors. SEM images of MXene-based interdigitated electrodes and corresponding electrode gaps. Reproduced from (Huang et al., 2022) with permission of American Chemical Society. (d) Laser-cut fabrication process of stretchable, twistable, and bendable MXene-based supercapacitors. MXene/BC composite papers were fabricated via vacuum-assisted self-assembly and subsequently coated with an Au layer by magnetron sputtering. The papers were laser-cut into patterned electrodes to assemble MSC arrays, and schematic illustrations show their structural design and mechanical deformation under stretching. Photographs of an MXene-based supercapacitor array with four micro-supercapacitor units connected in series under (e) stretching, (f) twisting, and (g) bending. (h) Corresponding CV curves of the MXene-based supercapacitor array with four series-connected micro-supercapacitor units under stretching, twisting, and bending. Reproduced under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY License (Jiao et al., 2019). Copyright 2019, The Authors, Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim. (i) Spatial Light Modulator-based rapid laser patterning modification method for MXene-based supercapacitors. (j) Light field patterns of various shapes and corresponding optical micrographs of different types of micro-supercapacitors fabricated via this process. (k) Mechanism of photo-induced chemical synthesis. Reproduced under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (Yuan et al., 2023). Copyright 2023, The Authors, Published by Springer Nature.