Mesoporous TiO2/TiC@C Composite Membranes with Stable TiO2-C Interface for Robust Lithium Storage

Wei Zhang; Lianhai Zu; Biao Kong; Bingjie Chen; Haili He; Kun Lan; Yang Liu; Jinhu Yang; Dongyuan Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2018.04.009

Mesoporous TiO₂/TiC@C Composite Membranes with Stable TiO₂-C Interface for Robust Lithium Storage

iScience. 2018 May 25:3:149-160. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2018.04.009. Epub 2018 Apr 18.

Authors

Wei Zhang¹, Lianhai Zu², Biao Kong¹, Bingjie Chen³, Haili He¹, Kun Lan¹, Yang Liu¹, Jinhu Yang⁴, Dongyuan Zhao⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Shanghai Key Lab of Molecular Catalysis and Innovative Materials, Laboratory of Advanced Materials and iChEM, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, P. R. China.
² School of Chemical and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road 1239, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China; Research Center for Translational Medicine & Key Laboratory of Arrhythmias of the Ministry of Education of China, East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, No. 150 Jimo Road, Shanghai 200120, P. R. China.
³ School of Chemical and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road 1239, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China.
⁴ School of Chemical and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road 1239, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China; Research Center for Translational Medicine & Key Laboratory of Arrhythmias of the Ministry of Education of China, East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, No. 150 Jimo Road, Shanghai 200120, P. R. China. Electronic address: yangjinhu@tongji.edu.cn.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Shanghai Key Lab of Molecular Catalysis and Innovative Materials, Laboratory of Advanced Materials and iChEM, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, P. R. China. Electronic address: dyzhao@fudan.edu.cn.

Abstract

Transition metal oxides/carbon (TMOs/C) composites are important for high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), but the development of interface-stable TMOs/C composite anodes for robust lithium storage is still a challenge. Herein, mesoporous TiO₂/TiC@C composite membranes were synthesized by an in situ carbothermic reduction method. TiC nanodots with high conductivity and electrochemical inactivity at the TiO₂-C interface can significantly enhance the electrical conductivity and structural stability of the membranes. Finite element simulations demonstrate that the TiO₂/TiC@C membranes can effectively alleviate tensile and compression stress effects upon lithiation, which is beneficial for robust lithium storage. When used as additives and binder-free electrodes, the TiO₂/TiC@C membranes show excellent cycling capability and rate performance. Moreover, a flexible full battery can be assembled by employing the TiO₂/TiC@C membranes and shows good performance, highlighting the potential of these membranes in flexible electronics. This work opens an avenue to constructing interface-stable composite structures for the next-generation high-performance LIBs.

Keywords: Composite Materials; Energy Materials; Nanomaterials.