Three – Dimensionally Ordered Macroporous Amorphous C/TiO2 Composite Electrodes for Lithium-ion Batteries
Aoife Carroll,
Alex Grant,
Yan Zhang,
Umair Gulzar,
Syed Abdul Ahad,
Hugh Geaney,
Colm O’Dwyer
Affiliations
Aoife Carroll
School of Chemistry, University College Cork , Cork, T12 YN60, Ireland; Micro-Nano Systems Centre, Tyndall National Institute, Lee Maltings, Cork, T12 R5CP, Ireland
Alex Grant
School of Chemistry, University College Cork , Cork, T12 YN60, Ireland; Micro-Nano Systems Centre, Tyndall National Institute, Lee Maltings, Cork, T12 R5CP, Ireland
Yan Zhang
School of Chemistry, University College Cork , Cork, T12 YN60, Ireland; Micro-Nano Systems Centre, Tyndall National Institute, Lee Maltings, Cork, T12 R5CP, Ireland
Umair Gulzar
School of Chemistry, University College Cork , Cork, T12 YN60, Ireland; Micro-Nano Systems Centre, Tyndall National Institute, Lee Maltings, Cork, T12 R5CP, Ireland
Syed Abdul Ahad
Bernal Institute, University of Limerick , Limerick V94 T9PX, Ireland; Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Limerick , Limerick V94 T9PX, Ireland
Hugh Geaney
Bernal Institute, University of Limerick , Limerick V94 T9PX, Ireland; Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Limerick , Limerick V94 T9PX, Ireland
School of Chemistry, University College Cork , Cork, T12 YN60, Ireland; Micro-Nano Systems Centre, Tyndall National Institute, Lee Maltings, Cork, T12 R5CP, Ireland; AMBER@CRANN, Trinity College Dublin , Dublin 2, Ireland; Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork , Lee Road, Cork T23 XE10, Ireland
A facile method utilizing colloidal templating and sucrose as a carbon precursor is used to synthesize highly ordered, porous inverse opal structures as C/TiO _2 nanocomposites. Material characterization shows amorphous TiO _2 and a large pore size of ∼400 nm allowing for enhanced electrolyte penetration. C/TiO _2 inverse opals materials as electrodes in Li-ion battery half cells demonstrate discharge and charge capacities of ∼870 mAh g ^−1 and 470 mAh g ^−1 , respectively, at a current density of 150 mA g ^−1 . The enhanced capacities, which surpass theoretical limits for TiO _2 and carbon based on intercalation reactions, are analyzed under voltammetric conditions to assess relative contributions to capacity from diffusion-limited intercalation and capacitive charge compensation reactions. The porous structure contributes to excellent capacity retention, rate performance and improved Coulombic efficiency (99.6% after 250 cycles), compared to individual carbon and TiO _2 inverse opals.
