6–10 Jul 2026
University of the Western Cape
Africa/Johannesburg timezone
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Enhanced Titanium Carbide MXene Structure with CuO Quantum Dots as Electrode for Advanced Supercapacitor Application

7 Jul 2026, 17:20
1h 20m
Great Hall (University of the Western Cape)

Great Hall

University of the Western Cape

Poster Presentation Track F - Applied Physics Poster Session 1

Speaker

RANTSOTLHE MPHO (University of Pretoria, Department of Physics)

Description

Ti3C2:CuO quantum dot composites with different mass ratios (1:0.5, 1:1, and 1:2) were successfully synthesized by hydrofluoric acid etching of Ti3AlC2 (MAX phase) to obtain Ti₃C₂ MXene, followed by sonication-assisted intercalation of CuO quantum dots. The incorporation of CuO quantum dots effectively suppressed MXene restacking, improved ion accessibility, and introduced additional redox-active sites, leading to enhanced electrochemical performance. Among the investigated composites, the Ti3C2: CuO (1:1) sample exhibited the highest specific capacitance of 108.1 F g⁻¹ in a three-electrode configuration, outperforming pristine Ti3C2, which delivered 74.2 F g⁻¹ in 1 M H2SO4 electrolyte. Furthermore, an asymmetric supercapacitor device was fabricated using Ti3C2: CuO (1:1) as the negative electrode and human hair-derived activated carbon as the positive electrode, delivering a high coulombic efficiency of 94.8%, excellent cycling stability with 82.6% capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles, a specific energy of 5.4 Wh kg⁻¹, and a power density of 410 W kg⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹. These results demonstrate the synergistic advantages of CuO quantum dot intercalation and highlight the potential of Ti3C2: CuO composites as promising electrode materials for high-performance supercapacitor applications.

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Author

RANTSOTLHE MPHO (University of Pretoria, Department of Physics)

Co-authors

Dr Gift Rutavi (University of Pretoria, Department of Physics) Mr Ncholu Manyala (University of Pretoria, Department of Physics) Dr Otun Kabir (UNISA, Department of Physics) Dr Rashed Adam (University of Pretoria, Department of Physics) Dr Samuel Chigome (Department of Natural Resources and Materials, Nanomaterials Division, Botswana Institute for Technology Research and Innovation)

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