Fabrication of Zn2GeO4 nanorods@TiO2 as anodes for lithium-ion batteries with enhanced cycling stability

It is known that introduction of TiO2 materials could improve cyclability of anode materials. However, such an investigation on TiO2 coating Zn2GeO4 for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) has not been reported. In this work, novel Zn2GeO4 nanorods@TiO2 were fabricated. TiO2 shell layer acting as a buffer and mechanical support against the pulverization of the Zn2GeO4 materials improves the electrochemical properties, the Zn2GeO4 nanorods@TiO2 as anode demonstrates a stable reversible capacity 330 mA h g−1 after 150 cycles under a current density of 200 mA g−1 and excellent rate capacity. Moreover, it is with a 100% capacity retention after the second cycle and much higher than that of compared to pure Zn2GeO4 nanorods (only 26%).