TiNb2O7/Graphene hybrid material as high performance anode for lithium-ion batteries

We report the synthesis of TiNb2O7/Graphene (TNO-TG) hybrid nanomaterial by simple solvothermal process, with TiNb2O7 nanoparticles anchored on the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets. TNO-TG hybrid nanomaterial showed excellent electrochemical performance when studied as anode for Lithium-ion battery, with an exceptionally high rate capability (capacity retention of 80% at 16 C rate) along with high discharge capacity (∼230 mAhg−1 after 50 cycles at 0.1 C). A full cell Li-ion battery has been fabricated with TNO-TG as anode and LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2:LiNi0.5Mn0.5O2 (wt% of 75:25) as cathode, which delivered an average cell voltage of ∼2.5 V with an initial anode-specific discharge capacity of 211 mAhg−1, when cycled in the voltage range of 1.5-3.5 V at 0.1 C. The obtained results are very promising and we believe the current findings will lead to new directions in the on-going search for safe and high performance anodes for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.