Lithium batteries are the most widely used type of rechargeable batteries on the market, but their production process is both expensive and environmentally detrimental. With continuously increasing demand and soaring prices, the search for alternative rechargeable batteries is crucial. A potential solution to this problem is the search for and development of alternative metal-ion batteries, with similar performance as using lithium. This work investigates the performance of a novel type of metal-ion battery based on silver-ions (Ag-ion) using a promising 2D MXene anode material, vanadium carbide (V2C). Even though silver is also a rare material it can be useful to alleviate the excessive demand on Li. This study investigated the V2C Mxene for its application as an anode material for Ag-ion batteries. The study indicates that the calculated OCV for Ag is 0.91-1.23 V, and the charging capacity 967 mA h g−1. In addition, we also calculated the diffusion barrier of Ag on V2C, which had the value of 0.07 eV which suggests a high charge/discharge rate.
Due to good charging capacity, high OCV, and low diffusion barrier for Ag ions, V2C anodes are ideal candidates for Ag-ion batteries. The performance of Ag-ions on V2C is also similar to the performance of Li-ions on V2C anodes, while also slightly outperforming Li-ions. Ag-ion batteries might hence be a possible alternative to Li-ion batteries, with the use of alleviating the ever-increasing demand for Li.