Simple preparation of petal-like TiO2 nanosheets as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

We demonstrate a simple and green approach for the synthesis of one kind of anatase TiO2 nanosheets. The method is based on a hydrothermal method under normal atmosphere without using the complex Teflon-lined autoclave, high concentrations NaOH solution and long reaction time. The as-prepared materials are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and electrochemical measurements. The obtained anatase TiO2 nanosheets show excellent performance. There is one pair of potential plateaus at 1.7 and 1.9 V in the process of Li insertion and extraction, and the initial Li insertion/extraction capacities are 382 and 326 mA h g−1 at the current density of 20 mA g−1, respectively. After 50 cycles, the TiO2 retains 93% of the initial charge capacity at the current density of 400 mA g−1.