Influence of Heat Treatment Temperatures on Structure and Electrochemical Performance of Carbon Cloth/TiO₂ Anodes

Herein, TiO₂-coated carbon cloth (CC) substrates were successfully synthesized. The relationship between heat treatment temperature and the structure and electrochemical performance of the CC/TiO₂ composites was examined, and a feasible model was proposed based on the structural evolution process under different heat treatment temperatures. As the temperature was increased from 450°C to 900°C, the morphology of the TiO₂ coating was transformed from nanocube particles to nanorods, and a mixed structure of particles and nanorods was obtained for CC/TiO₂-800°C. As the anode electrode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the CC/TiO₂-800°C composite material presents superior structural stability and electrochemical performance; the initial discharge/charge specific capacities are 2372 and 1989 mAh/g (coulombic efficiency of 83.9%), and a satisfactory specific capacity of 994 mAh/g can be achieved under the condition of 0.5 A/g and 130 cycles. The excellent electrochemical properties can be explained by the unique structure. The CC substrate has high electrical conductivity, significantly enhancing the electron transfer performance of the composite materials. In addition, electron transport in three dimensions can be realized as a result of the synergistic effect of the CC substrate and TiO₂ coating composed of nanoparticles and nanorods. Moreover, the mixed structure of the TiO₂ coating reduces the diffusion distance of Li⁺ ions and suppresses the volume variation during the electrochemical reaction.