Introduction of amorphous TiO2 coating layer to improve the lithium storage of SiO2 nanospheres anode

• Published in: Ionics 2022-03, Vol.28 (3), p.1081-1089
• Main Authors: Ding, Mengzhao, Zhai, Jianguang, Zeng, Panjing, Zhang, Chaomin, Ping, Yunxia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anodes; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Condensed Matter Physics; Core-shell structure; Cycles; Elasticity; Electrical resistivity; Electrochemistry; Energy Storage; Lithium; Lithium-ion batteries; Nanospheres; Optical and Electronic Materials; Original Paper; Rechargeable batteries; Renewable and Green Energy; Silicon dioxide; Sol-gel processes; Structural integrity; Titanium dioxide
• ISSN: 0947-7047; 1862-0760
• DOI: 10.1007/s11581-021-04435-w

Silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ) is considered a promising candidate to replace commercial graphite anodes in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, poor electrical conductivity and drastic volume swing hinder it from practical applications. Smart surface coatings have been shown to be good examples of dramatically improved SiO 2 cycling performance. Herein, a SiO 2 @amorphous TiO 2 (SiO 2 @a-TiO 2 ) composite with core–shell structure was synthesized via a facile sol–gel method. The amorphous TiO 2 shell shows elastic behavior during lithium discharging and charging processes, maintaining high structural integrity. The resulting materials serve as LIBs anodes with superior lithium storage properties in terms of high initial capacity (1125 m Ah g −1 at 0.1 A g −1 ), good rate capability (387 m Ah g −1 at 2 A g −1 ), and excellent cycling stability (582 m Ah g −1 was retained over 300 cycles at 0.1 A g −1 ).