Enhancing sustainable lithium-ion battery anode using activated carbon-derived polypropylene plastic waste/MXene hybrid composite

This study uses a facile synthesis approach to develop activated carbon-derived polypropylene plastic waste (APC) integrated MXene (Ti₃C₂) composite (APC800_Ti₃C₂) anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Microwave-assisted pyrolysis and activation of waste polypropylene produced porous APC800 carbon, while in-situ etching under microwave irradiation synthesized Ti₃C₂ nanosheets. APC800 and Ti₃C₂ are combined using slurry casting at varying mass ratios to form the hybrid electrode. Characterization revealed a mesoporous structure that alleviated mechanical stress during lithiation/delithiation. Galvanostatic cycling showed that the 8:2 APC800_Ti₃C₂ composition delivered an initial discharge capacity of 995.2 mAh/g with negligible attenuation over 100 cycles at 0.2 A/g. Moreover, the rate capability test recovered the specific capacity to 866.7 mAh/g upon returning to 0.2 A/g, demonstrating superior performance. This novel APC800_Ti₃C₂ hybrid composite is a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries with a high capacity and long cycle life.