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Abstract Vanadium-based materials are fascinating potential cathodes for high energy density Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs), due to their high capacity arising from multi-electron redox chemistry. Most vanadium-based materials suffer from poor rate capability, however, owing to their low conductivity and large dimension. Here, we propose the application of V C MXene (V CT ), a conductive 2D nanomaterial, for achieving high energy density ZIBs with superior rate capability. Through an initial charging activation, the valence of surface vanadium in V CT cathode is raised significantly from V /V to V /V , forming a nanoscale vanadium oxide (VO ) coating that effectively undergoes multi-electron reactions, whereas the inner V-C-V 2D multi-layers of V CT are intentionally preserved, providing abundant nanochannels with intrinsic high conductivity. Owing to the synergistic effects between the outer high-valence VO and inner conductive V-C-V, the activated V CT presents an ultrahigh ra ....