Facile preparation of nanoporous TiO2/MoOx composite and its high lithium storage performances as an anode material

•Nanoporous TiO2/MoOx is made by one step dealloying of TiMoAl source alloy.•TiO2/MoOx consists of interconnected network backbone and hollow channels.•TiO2/MoOx shows superior reversible capacity and cycling stability than pure TiO2.•TiO2/MoOx exhibits high rate capacity performances at high current densities.

Nanoporous TiO2/MoOx composite is easily fabricated via one-step mild dealloying of well-designed TiMoAl ternary alloy in alkaline solution. Selectively leaching the Al atom from the precursor alloy resulted in the formation of nanoporous TiO2/MoOx composite accompanied with the natural oxidation of Ti and Mo atoms. The TiO2/MoOx composite is comprised of interconnected nanoscaled network backbone and hollow channels with the ligament size around 40 nm and the pore size around 90 nm. Owing to the rich porosity and the incorporation of MoOx, the as-made nanocomposite exhibits markedly enhanced lithium storage performances with superior reversible capacity, outstanding rate capability, and prominent cycling stabilities compared with the pure TiO2. Especially, the reversible capacity remains about 321.6 and 167.5 mA h g−1 at the rate of 300 and 1000 mA g−1, respectively, after long cycling up to 500 times. Benefitting from the unique performance and facile preparation, the TiO2/MoOx composite holds promising application potential as an anode material in lithium-ion batteries.