An innovative synthesis of carbon-coated TiO2 nanoparticles as a host for Na+ intercalation in sodium-ion batteries

Abstract

In this work, an innovative route to synthesize an anatase TiO₂@C composite is presented. The synthesis was conducted using a soft chemistry microwave-assisted method using titanium(IV) butoxide as a titanium precursor. The residual (un)converted titanium precursor remaining after TiO₂ synthesis was used as a carbon precursor and thermally treated under H₂ to obtain nanoparticles of the TiO₂@C composite. A superior reversible specific capacity was obtained with TiO₂@C (120 mA h g⁻¹ at a C/20 rate, 3^rd cycle) compared to that with pristine TiO₂ (66.5 mA h g⁻¹ at a C/20 rate, 3^rd cycle), in agreement with the importance of carbon coating addition to TiO₂ nanoparticles as negative electrode materials for sodium-ion batteries.