Dramatically Enhanced Li-Ion Storage of ZnO@C Anodes through TiO2 Homogeneous Hybridization

Amorphous nanoparticles of ZnO and TiO₂ embedded in carbon nanocages (AZT⊂CNCs) were successfully synthesized through a simple annealing process of TiO₂-coated zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8). In the current anode of AZT⊂CNCs, tiny ZnO and TiO₂ nanoparticles were uniformly distributed in the carbon matrix (carbon nanocages), which could effectively buffer the volume expansion of electroactive ZnO and provide excellent electric conductivity. After fully investigating the electrochemical performance of the AZT⊂CNCs samples obtained with different additive amounts of tetrabutyl orthotitanate (TBOT) for TiO₂ coating, it has been found that AZT-30 (0.1 g ZIF-8 with 30 mL TBOT) shows the best cycle stability (510 mA h g⁻¹ after 350 cycles at 200 mA g⁻¹) and a superior rate capability (610 mA h g⁻¹ after 3500 cycles at 2 A g⁻¹). The greatly enhanced Li-ion storage performance could be ascribed to the fact that the introduction of amorphous TiO₂ could activate the reversible lithiation/delithiation reaction of ZnO during the charge/discharge process.