Facile synthesis of rutile TiO2/carbon nanosheet composite from MAX phase for lithium storage

Titanium oxide (TiO2), with excellent cycling stability and low volume expansion, is a promising anode material for lithium-ion battery (LIB). which suffers from low electrical conductivity and poor rate capability. Combining nano-sized TiO2 with conductive materials is proved an efficient method to improve its electrochemical properties. Here, rutile TiO2/carbon nanosheet was obtained by calcinating MAX (Ti3AlC2) and Na2CO3 together and water-bathing with HCI. The lamellar carbon atoms in MAX are converted to 2D carbon nanosheets with urchin-like rutile TiO2 anchored on. The unique architecture can offer plentiful active sites, shorten the ion diffusion distance and improve the conductivity. The composite exhibits a high reversible capacity of 247 mA h g(-1), excellent rate performance (38 mA h g(-1) at 50 C) and stable cycling performance (0.014% decay per cycle during 2000 cycles) for lithium storage. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.