American Chemical Society, Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 22(114), p. 10308-10313, 2010
DOI: 10.1021/jp103218u
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Well-organized mesoporous TiO2−C nanospheres are manufactured in large scale starting from tetrabutyl titanate (TBT) and glucose in solution, and investigated with scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption−desorption isotherms, and electrochemical experiments. The TiO2−C nanospheres show excellent rate capability and cycling performance for lithium ion batteries. At the extremely high rate of 100 C (discharge/charge within 36 s), the TiO2−C nanosphere can still deliver a specific capacity as high as 96 mA h g−1. Moreover, the as-obtained mesoporous TiO2−C nanosphere can be used as an anode material for a new high rate 1.5 V rechargeable Li ion full cell containing a LiFePO4−C cathode with similar mixed conducting 3D networks. This type of rechargeable battery typically gives an output of 1.5 V per cell, which raises the potential for directly replacing the widely used 1.5 V primary alkaline batteries and dry cells.