Three-dimensional mesoporous nanocube TiO2/reduced graphene oxide composites with enhanced lithium storage properties

Abstract

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) and TiO2-based composite materials have been widely investigated in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to their small volume change and high safety during the cycling process. However, the low ionic and electrical conductivity of TiO2 nanomaterials leads to poor cycling performances for LIBs. Herein, we successfully synthesized three-dimensional (3D) mesoporous nanocube TiO2/reduced graphene oxide (TiO2/RGO) composites with a simple hydrothermal method without using any surfactants and high-temperature calcination. The as-prepared TiO2/RGO composites are characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, electron microscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area. Benefiting from the RGO conductive substrates and 3D nanotube mesoporous structure, the as-prepared TiO2/RGO composites exhibit high specific capacities of ∼180 mA h g−1 at 1.2 C after 300 cycles as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).