Amorphous and Crystalline TiO2 Nanotube Arrays for Enhanced Li-ion Intercalation Properties

Abstract

AbstractWe have employed anodic oxidation of Ti foils to prepare self-organized TiO2 nanotube arrays which show enhanced electrochemical properties for applications as Li-ion battery electrode materials. The lengths and pore diameters of TiO2 nanotubes can be finely tuned by varying voltage, electrolyte composition, or anodization time. The as-prepared nanotubes are amorphous and can be converted into anatase nanotubes with heat treatment at 480oC and nanotubes of mixed anatase/rutile phases by heating at 580oC. The morphological features of nanotubes remain unchanged after annealing. Amorphous nanotubes with a length of 3.0 μm and an outer diameter of 125 nm delivers a capacity of 91.2 μA h cm-2 at a current density of 400 μA cm-2, while those with a length of 25 μm and an outer diameter of 158 nm display a capacity of 533 μA h cm-2. The 3-μm long anatase nanotubes and nanotubes of mixed phases show lower capacities of 53.8 μA h cm-2 and 63.1 μA h cm-2, respectively at the same current density. The amorphous TiO2 nanotubes with a length of 1.9 μm exhibit a capacity five times higher than that of TiO2 compact layer even when the nanotube array is cycled at a current density 80 times higher than that for the compact layer. The amorphous nanotubes show excellent capacity retention ability over 50 cycles. Cycled nanotubes show little change in morphology compared to the nanotubes before cycling, indicating the high structural stability of TiO2 nanotubes.