Titanium germanium carbide MAX phase electrocatalysts for supercapacitors and alkaline water electrolysis processes

Developing electrochemically active, stable, and low-cost electrocatalysts for electrochemical devices is a significant breakthrough. Accordingly, MAX phases, emerging three-dimensional materials, are considered outstanding candidates due to their excellent electrocatalytic and electrochemical properties. Herein, the titanium germanium carbide (Ti₃GeC₂) MAX phase with a layered structure manufactured through reactive sintering was regarded as the electrocatalyst. In the current work, the electrocatalytic activity of the Ti₃GeC₂ was investigated for electrochemical devices. It was observed that adding activated carbon to the Ti₃GeC₂ enhances the conductivity and active area, leading to an excellent specific capacitance (349 Fg^-1) for supercapacitors. Also, the capacitance of Ti₃GeC₂ was increased by increasing the number of cyclic voltammetry cycles. In another application, Ti₃GeC₂ showed substantial activity for hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions in alkaline media. As a result, the alkaline water electrolysis system using Ti₃GeC₂ showed the highest current density of 10 mA cm⁻² at 1.36 V and outstanding stability over 400 cycles.