TiO2-CNTs grown on titanium as an anode layer for lithium-ion batteries

TiO2 has recently been attracted for use as anode material in lithium ion batteries (LIBs). However, its drawbacks are poor electrical conductivity and low intrinsic diffusivity of Li ions. In this work, a TiO2-carbon nanotubes (CNTs) anode layer was grown on a titanium thin plate via micro-arc oxidation (MAO) technique by incorporating CNTs into the electrolyte. Material characterization and electrochemical measurement were carried to the obtained Ti/TiO2-CNTs composite. Experimental results show that the obtained TiO2-CNTs layer was found to coexist micro- and nano-TiO2 in morphology with evenly dispersed CNTs. By serving the Ti/TiO2-CNTs composite as the anode, the assembled coin cell increases its discharge capacity to 201 mAh/g measured after the 20th cycle at a discharge rate of 0.2 C, as opposed to the value of 69 mAh/g when without the addition of CNTs. This indicates that the CNTs network contributes to the increase its electrochemical properties.