Low temperature behaviour of TiO2 rutile as negative electrode material for lithium-ion batteries

High surface nanosized rutile TiO2 is prepared via a sol-gel method from an ethylene glycol-based titanium-precursor in the presence of a non-ionic surfactant, at pH 0. Its electrochemical behaviour has been investigated at low temperature using two different potential windows. Typically, the potential window of the rutile system is 1-3 V but the use of an enlarged potential window (0.1-3 V), leads to an excellent reversible capacity of 341 mAh g(-1) which is comparable to graphite anodes. The electrochemical performance was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic techniques at temperatures ranging from -40 to 20 degrees C. Nanosized TiO2 exhibits excellent rate capability (341 mAh g(-1) at 20 degrees C, 197 mAh g(-1) at -10 degrees C, 138 mAh g(-1) at -20 degrees C, and 77 mAh g(-1) at -40 degrees C at a C/5 rate) and good cycling stability. The superior low-temperature electrochemical performance of nanosized rutile TiO2 may make it a promising candidate as lithium-ion battery material. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.