Designed fabrication of fluorine-doped carbon coated mesoporous TiO2 hollow spheres for improved lithium storage

• Anatase TiO2 hollow spheres with mesoporous shells (MHTO) was fabricated via a facile and controllable route, to improve the lithium ion mobility as well as the stability of the architecture.
• Fluorine-doped carbon derived from polyvinylidene difluoride was further encapsulated onto TiO2 hollow spheres to improve the conductivity.
• The composites could provide excellent electrochemical performance, which was desirable for the application of TiO2 as an anode material in lithium ion batteries.

In this manuscript, we demonstrated a facile route for the controllable design of “Fluorine (F)-doped carbon” (C/F)-treated TiO2 hollow spheres with mesoporous shells (MHTO-C/F). The fabrication of this distinct mesoporous hollow structures and the C/F coating could effectively improve the electrolyte permeability and architectural stability, as well as electrical conductivity and lithium ion mobility. As anticipated, MHTO-C/F has several remarkable electrochemical properties, such as a high specific reversible capacity of 252 mA h g−1, outstanding cycling stability of more than 210 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.5 C, and good rate performance of around 123 mA h g−1 at 5 C (1 C = 168 mA g−1). These properties are highly beneficial for lithium storage.

Hollow TiO2 with mesoporous shell (MHTO) was successfully fabricated by a novel and controllable route, followed by fluorine-doped carbon coating the MHTO (MHTO-C/F), with the aim of enhancing the conductivity and stability of structures.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide