Enhanced lithium ion storage in TiO2 nanoparticles, induced by sulphur and carbon co-doping

Sulphur and carbon codoped anatase nanoparticles are synthesized by one-step approach based on interaction between thiourea and metatitanic acid. Electron microscopy shows micrometer-sized randomly distributed crystal aggregates, consisting of many 25-40 nm TiO2 nanoparticles. The obtained phase composition and chemical states of the elements in the structure are analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). XRD shows that after doping the tetragonal anatase structure is preserved. Further data assessment by Rietveld refinement allows detection of a slight increase of the c lattice parameter and volume related to incorporation of the doping elements. XPS confirms the coexistence of both elemental and oxide carbon forms, which are predominantly located on the TiO2 particle surface. According to XPS analysis sulphur occupies titanium sites and the element is present in S6+ sulfate environment. Analysis based on cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic intermittent titration (GITT) suggests an accelerated Li+ transport in the doped TiO2 structure. The synthesized S and C co-doped anatase has an excellent electrochemical performance in terms of capacity and very fast lithiation kinetics, superior to the non-doped TiO2. The material displays 83% capacity retention for 500 galvanostatic cycles and nearly 100% current efficiency.