Continuous hollow TiO2 structures with three-dimensional interconnected single crystals and large pore mesoporous shells for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

A continuous hollow TiO2 structure with three-dimensional (3D) interconnected anatase single crystals self-assembled into compact large pore mesoporous shells had been fabricated in this paper. The as-obtained hierarchically micro/nano-structured materials, denoted as CTAB–TiO2, are simply prepared via a hydrothermal method with the assistance of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) micelles. The results show that both CTAB and the thermal treatment played a key role in forming a continuous hollow micro/nano-structure with large mesopores. It has been found that the rate properties and cyclic performance of lithium-ion batteries based on annealed CTAB–TiO2, denoted as A-CTAB–TiO2, were greatly enhanced compared to the CTAB–TiO2 electrodes, this improvement was largely attributed to the reduction of the interfacial resistance due to nanocrystal–nanocrystal contact throughout the electrode films and the increased Li-ion diffusion properties of uniform large pore mesoporous shells (12.8 nm). The low-cost synthesis and excellent electrode properties of the continuous interconnected single crystals with a large pore mesoporous architecture could provide a new direction for developing higher-performance lithium storage electrodes.