Improved the lithium storage capability of BaLi2Ti6O14 by electroless silver coating

•BaLi2Ti6O14/Ag is fabricated via a facile electroless deposition.•Highly dispersed Ag nanoparticles are successively coated on BaLi2Ti6O14.•BaLi2Ti6O14/Ag is used as anode material for lithium storage.•BaLi2Ti6O14/Ag exhibits improved lithium storage capability.

To form BaLi2Ti6O14/Ag, highly dispersed Ag nanoparticles are successfully deposited on the surface of BaLi2Ti6O14 by a simple chemical deposition method. The morphology, quantity and size of Ag nanoparticles in BaLi2Ti6O14/Ag composites are significantly influenced by the Ag coating contents. Electrochemical results show that Ag nanoparticles play a positive role in reducing redox polarization and improving electrical conductivity of BaLi2Ti6O14 during lithiation/delithiation processes. Among all the as-obtained products, 6 wt.% Ag coated BaLi2Ti6O14 shows the highest initial charge specific capacity of 160 mAh g−1 at the current density of 100 mA g−1 (1C), which is much higher than the 149.1 mAh g−1 for bare BaLi2Ti6O14. After 100 charge/discharge cycles, the reversible capacity can be maintained at 117.0 mAh g−1. Moreover, this sample also shows excellent rate performance with high reversible charge capacities of 147.5, 139.7, 132.6, and 126.7 mAh g−1 at the rates of 2C, 3C, 4C and 5C, respectively. Compared with bare BaLi2Ti6O14, the superior electrochemical performance indicates that BaLi2Ti6O14/Ag can be a good anode material in lithium ion batteries.

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