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Solvothermal synthesis of TiNb2O7 microspheres as anodic materials for high-performance lithium–ion batteries

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Abstract

TiNb2O7 (TNO) has been regarded as a promising anode material for high-power lithium–ion batteries due to its high theoretical capacity and work voltage (387.6 mA h g−1, 1.6 V vs. Li+/Li). Herein, a series of microspherical TNO anode materials are synthesized by a facile solvothermal method, and the effect of solvothermal time on the microstructure and electrochemical performance is investigated. Specifically, when the solvothermal time is 12 h, the TNO microsphere (TNO-12) exhibits higher specific surface area and more reasonable pore size distribution. As a result, TNO-12 anode delivers a high reversible discharge capacity of 299.87 mA h g−1 with a superior initial coulombic efficiency above 98.5%, excellent cycling capacity retention of 80.15% after 100 cycles at 0.5 C (150 mA g−1), and good rate performance at 0.1–2 C. Most importantly, the full cell constructed with TNO anode and commercial oxide cathode (LiNi0.6Mn0.4O2/LiMn2O4 with a mass ratio of 85: 15) exhibits excellent cycling stability at high current densities (79.14% after 100 cycles at 0.5 C). This study optimizes the synthesis process for high-performance microspherical TNOs, providing new insights for the next generation of commercial anodes.

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Funding

The work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22279116 and U20A20253), Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (LY21E020005 and LD22E020006), Science and Technology Department of Zhejiang Province (2022C01173 and 2023C01231), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2020M671785 and 2020T130597), and Scientific Research Project of Shaoxing City (2022B41015).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, China

    Wenkui Zhang, Jian Bao, Chengwei Lu, Xiaozheng Zhou, Xinhui Xia, Jun Zhang, Xinping He, Yongping Gan, Hui Huang, Chen Wang, Ruyi Fang & Yang Xia

  2. Zhejiang Academy of Science and Technology for Inspection & Quarantine, Hangzhou, 311215, China

    Chen Wang & Wangjun Wan

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  1. Wenkui Zhang
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  2. Jian Bao
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  3. Chengwei Lu
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Contributions

Wenkui Zhang: writing—original draft and funding acquisition. Jian Bao: investigation, data curation, and writing—original draft. Chengwei Lu: investigation and data curation. Xiaozheng Zhou: formal analysis and data curation. Xinhui Xia: formal analysis and data curation. Jun Zhang: investigation and formal analysis. Xinping He: investigation and visualization. Yongping Gan: formal analysis and visualization. Hui Huang: formal analysis and data curation. Chen Wang: formal analysis and visualization. Wangjun Wan: formal analysis and data curation. Ruyi Fang: supervision and writing—review and editing. Yang Xia: supervision, funding acquisition, and conceptualization.

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Zhang, W., Bao, J., Lu, C. et al. Solvothermal synthesis of TiNb2O7 microspheres as anodic materials for high-performance lithium–ion batteries. J Solid State Electrochem (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-023-05545-3

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