Electrochemical properties of rutile TiO2 nanorods as anode material for lithium-ion batteries

In this paper, we synthesized rutile TiO₂ nanorods by hydrolysis of TiCl₄ ethanolic solution in water at 50?°C. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy images show that the as-prepared sample was consisted of nanoflowers of about 500?nm in sizes, and each petal of nanoflowers was assembled by several nanorods. We tested the electrochemical properties of the rutile TiO₂ nanorods as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries. The rutile TiO₂ nanorods exhibited a large initial discharge capacity of 223?mA?h?g^?1, and the stabilized capacity was as high as 170?mA?h?g^?1 after 100 cycles. These improved electrochemical performances may be attributed to the shorter diffusion length for both the electron and Li⁺, and the large electrode?Celectrolyte contact area offered by the nanorods with a large specific surface area, which facilitated the lithium ions insertion and extraction.