Biomass-Derived Supercapacitors Supercharged with MXene Integration

Biomass-derived carbon, obtained from renewable organic materials, offers several advantages, including sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and excellent electrochemical properties, such as high energy and power densities, adjustable morphologies, and cycling stability. However, the limitation of carbon-based materials can be addressed through surface modification with layered materials such as, layered double hydroxides, metal dichalcogenides, graphene, vanadium pentoxide and the new emerging material MXene. This review highlights techniques particularly heteroatom doping and chemical or physical activation to further enhance the electrochemical performance of biomass-derived carbon as supercapacitors. It also examines the synthesis of MXenes, two-dimensional transition metal carbides and nitrides, known for high conductivity, structural stability, and versatile surface chemistry. Despite these advantages, MXenes face challenges such as self-oxidation, self-discharging, and nanosheets restacking, which limit long-term stability. The effective strategies including surface and interlayer modifications and optimized synthesis route, are explored to significantly improve the electrochemical performance MXene-based composites. Additionally, the enrichment of biomass waste and the role of MXenes in electrical double-layer (EDLCs) and pseudocapacitance are emphasized, with MXene offering continuous electron transport channels, high oxidation resistance, and structural stability. Ultimately, integrating biomass-derived carbon with MXenes offers promising pathway to develop high-performance, sustainable supercapacitors for efficient energy storage solutions in future applications.