Mesoporous anatase TiO2 nanorods as thermally robust anode materials for Li-ion batteries: detailed insight into the formation mechanism.
Uniformly mesoporous and thermally robust anatase nanorods were produced with quantitative yield by a simple and efficient one-step approach. The mechanism of this process was revealed by insertion of Eu(3+) cations from the reaction medium as luminescent probes. The obtained structure displays an unusually high porosity, an active surface area of about 300 m(2) g(-1) and a specific capacity of 167 mA h g(-1) at a C/3 rate, making it attractive as an anode electrode for Li-ion batteries. An additional attractive feature is its remarkable thermal stability; heating to 400 °C results in a decrease in the active surface area to a still relatively high value of 110 m(2) g(-1) with conservation of open mesoporosity. Thermal treatment at 800 °C or higher, however, causes transformation into a non-porous rutile monolith, as commonly observed with nanoscale titania.
Department of Chemistry, BioCenter, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7015, 75007 Uppsala (Sweden). gulaim.seisenbaeva@slu.se.
Gulaim A
GA
Seisenbaeva
Jean-Marie
JM
Nedelec
Geoffrey
G
Daniel
Carmen
C
Tiseanu
Vasile
V
Parvulescu
Vilas G
VG
Pol
Luis
L
Abrego
Vadim G
VG
Kessler
D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004566:Electrodes; D005063:Europium / Q000737:chemistry; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry; D007477:Ions / Q000737:chemistry; D008094:Lithium / Q000737:chemistry*; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D013696:Temperature; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*
D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D007477:Ions; C009495:titanium dioxide; D005063:Europium; D008094:Lithium; D014025:Titanium
Li-ion battery performance; anatase; mesoporous materials; thermal stability; titania