Al13-pillared anatase TiO2 as a cathode for a lithium battery

Al-13-pillared anatase TiO2 is used as a cathode of a lithium battery for the first time. First, a layered titanium dioxide with cationic surfactant ions of cetyltrimethylammonium (CTA(+)) in the interlayers is synthesized by self-assembly. Then, pillared TiO2 is obtained by exchange of polyoxo cations of aluminium, [Al13O4(OH)(24)(H2O)(12)](7+), with CTA(+) and subsequent calcination at 300 degreesC for 1 h in the air. Powder x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and surface area (BET) methods are used to characterize the layered and pillared forms of titanium dioxide. A lithium battery with the Al-13-pillared TiO2 as the cathode and Li metal foil as the anode is studied within the 1-2.2 V voltage range. The specific capacity of the closed button cell (size 2025) that is delivered on the initial discharge reached 191.4 mA h g(-1) at the rate of 25 mA g(-1). The cell shows good cycling performance over 50 cycles.