Chemical-vapor deposition-based template synthesis of microtubular TiS2 battery electrodes

We have been exploring a general route for preparing nanomaterials called ''template synthesis.'' The application of the template method to the preparation of microtubular battery electrodes is described here. The template method is used to prepare a current collector that consists of an ensemble of metal microtubules that protrude from a metal surface like the bristles of a brush. Chemical vapor deposition is then used to coat this high surface area microtubule-based current collector with a thin skin of the desired Li+-intercalation material, in this case TiS2. In this way, a thin-walled tubule of TiS2 is formed on the outer surface of each metal microtubule. The thin walls of these TiS2 tubes insure that the distance over which Li+ must diffuse is small. and the high surface area insures that the current density is low These microtubular TiS, electrodes showed higher capacities, lower resistance and lower susceptibility to slow electron transfer kinetics than thin film (control) TiS2 electrodes prepared from the same amount of TiS2.