Login / Signup

Lychee-like TiO 2 @Fe 2 O 3 Core-Shell Nanostructures with Improved Lithium Storage Properties as Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Yuan ChenFeihong LiuYufei ZhaoMengdie DingJuan WangXuan ZhengHuihu WangMarie-Christine RecordPascal Boulet
Published in: Materials (Basel, Switzerland) (2023)
In this study, lychee-like TiO 2 @Fe 2 O 3 microspheres with a core-shell structure have been prepared by coating Fe 2 O 3 on the surface of TiO 2 mesoporous microspheres using the homogeneous precipitation method. The structural and micromorphological characterization of TiO 2 @Fe 2 O 3 microspheres has been carried out using XRD, FE-SEM, and Raman, and the results show that hematite Fe 2 O 3 particles (7.05% of the total mass) are uniformly coated on the surface of anatase TiO 2 microspheres, and the specific surface area of this material is 14.72 m 2 g -1 . The electrochemical performance test results show that after 200 cycles at 0.2 C current density, the specific capacity of TiO 2 @Fe 2 O 3 anode material increases by 219.3% compared with anatase TiO 2 , reaching 591.5 mAh g -1 ; after 500 cycles at 2 C current density, the discharge specific capacity of TiO 2 @Fe 2 O 3 reaches 273.1 mAh g -1 , and its discharge specific capacity, cycle stability, and multiplicity performance are superior to those of commercial graphite. In comparison with anatase TiO 2 and hematite Fe 2 O 3 , TiO 2 @Fe 2 O 3 has higher conductivity and lithium-ion diffusion rate, thereby enhancing its rate performance. The electron density of states (DOS) of TiO 2 @Fe 2 O 3 shows its metallic nature by DFT calculations, revealing the essential reason for the high electronic conductivity of TiO 2 @Fe 2 O 3 . This study presents a novel strategy for identifying suitable anode materials for commercial lithium-ion batteries.
Keyphrases