Facile synthesis of porous Fe2TiO5 microparticulates serving as anode material with enhanced electrochemical performances

Abstract

Porous iron titanium oxide (Fe₂TiO₅) microparticulates have been successfully synthesized via a facile hydrothermal route followed by a subsequent calcination process. Polyvinyl-pyrrolidone (PVP), serving as a surfactant, played a pivotal role in controlling the size and inducing the mesoporous structure of Fe₂TiO₅. The measured specific surface area is 83.1 m² g⁻¹ and the dominant pore size is ca. 10 nm. When tested as the anode material of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the as-prepared porous Fe₂TiO₅ microparticulates delivered a high reversible capacity of 468.3 mA h g⁻¹ after 100 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g⁻¹, which nearly quadrupled that of porous TiO₂ microspheres and doubled that of Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles. Moreover, the porous Fe₂TiO₅ microparticulates also showed more superior rate capability and long-term cycling stability with respect to TiO₂ and Fe₂O₃ samples. Even after the rate performance test, a high discharge capacity of 234.1 mA h g⁻¹ was still maintained at a current density of 500 mA g⁻¹ over another 250 cycles. The improved electrochemical performances are mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of TiO₂ and Fe₂O₃ in Fe₂TiO₅, as well as the mesoporous structure.