# All-Electrochem-Active Graphite Electrode Enabled by Manipulating Li+ Activity of Inactive Components for High-Energy Batteries

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a new graphite electrode design where traditionally inactive components become electrochemically active, boosting battery energy density.

## Contribution

The novel use of MXene and TiO2–x@C as both functional and active components in graphite electrodes.

## Key findings

- The all-electrochem-active graphite electrode achieved 394 mA h g–1 at 0.2C after 300 cycles.
- MXene and TiO2–x@C function as active materials with minimal degradation.
- The design improves energy density without sacrificing power or cycling stability.

## Abstract

Graphite anodes have approached their theoretical specific
capacity
of 372 mA h g–1, which becomes an obstacle for further
increasing the energy density of commercial lithium-ion batteries.
Various strategies have been proposed to enhance the energy density
of graphite-based full batteries, such as decreasing the usage of
inactive binders and conductive additives and exploring graphite/SiO
x
composite anodes. Nevertheless, the anodes
cannot balance energy density, power density, and cycling stability.
In this study, we designed an all-electrochem-active graphite electrode
by manipulating the Li+ activity of the inactive components
to improve the energy density of the entire electrode. In our study,
colloidal two-dimensional titanium carbide nanosheets (MXene) were
employed as binders, and carbon-coated titanium dioxide nanoparticles
with oxygen defects (TiO2–x
@C)
acted as conductive additives in the electrode configurations. Both
MXene and TiO2–x
@C can function
as active materials to store lithium ions by reversible insertion
and extraction with little electrochemical degradation. As a result,
the all-electrochem-active graphite electrodes demonstrated a superior
specific capacity of 394 mA h g–1 at a current density
of 0.2C after 300 cycles. This concept of all-electrochem-active electrodes
is anticipated to inspire future research on high-energy-density batteries
by activating the Li+ affinities of binders and conductive
additives.