Electrochemical lithium reactivity with nanotextured anatase-type TiO2

Abstract

Anatase TiO₂ particles were synthesized by a two-step method consisting of the preparation of a solid precursor through hydrolysis of titanium alkoxide followed by heat treatment at different temperatures under ambient air. This simple method led to a highly porous material with a 200 nm homogenous particle size, while the BET specific surface area and crystallite sizes evolved between 49 m² g⁻¹ to 223 m² g⁻¹ and from 17.0 nm to 6.3 nm, respectively. Their electrochemical performances clearly revealed the beneficial influence of the divided texture of anatase-type TiO₂ on the reactivity with lithium, namely in terms of reversibility. Furthermore, we showed that the TiO₂ texture strongly affects the extent of the solid solution domain. Finally, through a simple chemical titration it was possible to clearly quantify the capacitive/faradaic contributions of the electrochemical reaction.