posted on 2023-12-28, 21:07authored byChengwei Lu, Ruyi Fang, Yongping Gan, Xinping He, Zhen Xiao, Hui Huang, Jun Zhang, Xinhui Xia, Wenkui Zhang, Yang Xia
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been widely used
as an alternative
anodic material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to its ultrahigh
capacity retention and long cycle lifespan. However, the restriction
of lithium insertion, intrinsically poor electronic conductivity,
and sluggish lithium ionic kinetics of bulk TiO2 hinder
their specific capacity and rate performance. Herein, LiTiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) are synthesized via a facile ball milling method
by the reaction of anatase TiO2 with LiH. The as-prepared
LiTiO2 NPs have strong structural stability and a “zero
strain” effect during the repeated intercalation/deintercalation,
even at low potential. As anodic materials for LIBs, LiTiO2 NPs exhibit a superior rate performance of ∼100 mA h g–1 at 10C (3350 mA g–1) with a capacity
retention of 100% after 1000 cycles, which is 5 times higher than
that of the original commercial anatase TiO2 powder. The
higher specific capacity of LiTiO2 NPs is attributed to
the increased conversion of Ti3+ to Ti2+ on
the porous surface of LiTiO2 NPs, which provides a more
capacitive contribution. This study not only provides a new fabrication
approach toward Ti-based anodes for ultrafast LIBs but also underscores
the potential importance of embedding lithium into transition metal
oxides as a strategy for boosting their electrochemical performance.