Microemulsion-mediated sol–gel synthesis of mesoporous rutile TiO2 nanoneedles and its performance as anode material for Li-ion batteries

Mesoporous rutile TiO2 nanoneedles have been successfully synthesized using a reverse microemulsionmediated sol–gel method at room temperature. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and the Bruauner–Emmet–Teller (BET) adsorption method, and their electrochemical properties were investigated by galvanostatic charge and discharge tests. XRD observations revealed the formation of a pure rutile TiO2 phase. Furthermore, TEM observation revealed the presence of a highly porous needle-like morphology. The electrochemical measurements show that the nanoneedles deliver an initial capacity of 305 mA h g-1 as anode material for Li-ion batteries and sustain a capacity value of 128 mA h g-1 beyond 15 cycles. The reported synthesis is simple, mild, energy efficient, and without postcalcinatio

CTAB-assisted sol–gel synthesis of Li4Ti5O12 and its performance as anode material for Li-ion batteries

A simple CTAB-assisted sol–gel technique for synthesizing nano-sized Li4Ti5O12 with promising electrochemical performance as anode material for lithium ion battery is reported. The structural and morphological properties are investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The electrochemical performance of both samples (with and without CTAB) calcined at 800 8C is evaluated using SwagelokTM cells by galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling at roomtemperature. The XRD pattern for sample prepared in presence of CTAB and calcined at 800 8C shows high-purity cubicspinel Li4Ti5O12 phase (JCPDS # 26-1198). Nanosized-Li4Ti5O12 calcined at 800 8C in presence of CTAB exhibits promising cycling performance with initial discharge capacity of 174 mAh g-1 (100% of theoretical capacity) and sustains a capacity value of 164 mAh g-1 beyond 30 cycles. By contrast, the sample prepared in absence of CTAB under identical reaction conditions exhibits initial discharge capacity of 140 mAh g-1 (80% of theoretical capacity) that fades to 110 mAh g-1 after 30 cycle

Preparation and electrochemical characterization of lithium cobalt oxide nanoparticles by modified sol–gel method

Uniformly distributed nanoparticles of LiCoO2 have been synthesized through the simple sol–gel method in presence of neutral surfactant (Tween-80). The powders were characterized by X-ray diffractometry, transmission electron microscopy and electrochemical method including charge–discharge cycling performance. The powder calcined at a temperature of 900 8C for 5 h shows pure phase layered LiCoO2. The results show that the particle size is reduced in presence of surfactant as compared to normal sol– gel method. Also, the sample prepared in presence of surfactant and calcined at 900 8C for 5 h shows the highest initial discharge capacity (106 mAh g�1) with good cycling stability as compared to the sample prepared without surfactant which shows the specific discharge capacity of 50 mAh g�1