Heteroatomic interface engineering of an octahedron VSe₂-ZrO₂/C/MXene composite derived from a MXene-MOF hybrid as a superior-performance anode for lithium-ion batteries

As a promising electrode material with tremendous specific capacity, vanadium diselenide (VSe₂) has recently attracted renewed attention. However, the application of VSe₂ is still hindered by the difficulty in its synthesis and nature of volume expansion. In this work, we developed a practical solvothermal method and in situ selenization process to obtain the VSe₂-ZrO₂/C/MXene composite from the MXene-metal-organic framework (MOF) hybrid precursor. During the synthesis process, V₂CT_x is converted to VSe₂/MXene, which firmly anchors on the porous carbon derived from UiO-66 with the assistance of another derivative ZrO₂via chemical bonding. Remarkably, benefitting from the practical cooperation between VSe₂/MXene, ZrO₂ and porous carbon, VSe₂-ZrO₂/C/MXene displays an outstanding lithium storage performance with an enduring capacity rise from 461.2 to 1238.5 mA h g⁻¹ at 100 mA g⁻¹ after a short recession during cycling, which is investigated in detail as a “negative fading” phenomenon. Even at the high current density of 1.0 A g⁻¹, the composite still presents a high reversible capacity of 430 mA h g⁻¹ after 1000 cycles, highlighting its superior cycling stability. The application potential of the VSe₂-ZrO₂/C/MXene anode for LIBs has also been evaluated by assembling full cells. The strategy in this work inspires the construction design of novel selenide-based electrode materials for high-performance lithium-ion batteries.