Amorphous titanate-crosslinking N-rich carbon hybrid with 3D channels for fast lithium storage

Abstract

Carbon-based anodes are considered as the preferred choice owing to their unique properties, but they are limited by poor high-rate performance and capacities. To overcome the volume swell of layered materials like graphite, a novel amorphous titanate-crosslinking N-rich carbon hybrid is successfully prepared for the first time using a facile one-pot method. Due to the stable 3D framework with a good distribution of nitrogen and titanium, the obtained hybrid demonstrates a high reversible capacity of 523.3 mA h g⁻¹ at the high rate of 2 A g⁻¹, much higher than the theoretical value (372 mA h g⁻¹) of layered graphite. This hybrid anode also exhibits superior high-rate capability and cycling performance, possibly serving as a novel sustainable material for lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors.