title: Oxygen vacancy induced fast lithium storage and efficient organics photodegradation over ultrathin TiO2 nanolayers grafted graphene sheets.
abstract: In this work we have developed a unique structure of ultrathin (5nm) TiO2 nanolayers grafted graphene nanosheets (TiO2/G) and integrated oxygen vacancy (VO) into TiO2 to enhance its lithium storage and photocatalytic performances. The defective TiO2/G was synthesized by a solvothermal and subsequent thermal treatment method. When treated in a H2 atmosphere, the resulting TiO2-x/G(H2) has lower crystallinity, smaller crystal size, richer surface VO, higher surface area, larger pore volume, and lower charge transfer resistance than that reduced by NaBH4 solid, i.e., TiO2-x/G(NaBH4). More importantly, the surface VO in the TiO2-x/G(H2) could remarkably inhibit the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs compared with the bulk Vo in the TiO2-x/G(NaBH4). As a result, the combination of all the factors contributed to the superiority of TiO2-x/G(H2), which demonstrated not only 70% higher specific capacity, longer cycling performance (1000 cycles) and better rate capability for lithium-ion battery, but also higher photocatalytic activity and 1.5 times faster degradation rate for organic pollutants removal than TiO2-x/G(NaBH4). The findings in this work will benefit the fundamental understanding of TiO2/G surface chemistry and advance the design and preparation of functional materials for energy storage and water treatment.
authors.affiliation: Nanchang Hangkong University, Department of Material Chemistry, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China. Electronic address: xieyu_121@163.com.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Nanchang Hangkong University, Department of Material Chemistry, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Dongsheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Mechanical Engineering Department, Milwaukee, WI, USA. Electronic address: liul@uwm.edu.
authors.forename: Lianjun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Nanchang Hangkong University, Department of Material Chemistry, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Panpan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Nanchang Hangkong University, Department of Material Chemistry, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Jiangwei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Nanchang Hangkong University, Department of Material Chemistry, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ling
keywords: Graphene; Lithium-ion battery; Oxygen vacancy; Photocatalysis; TiO(2) nanolayers