Facile and controllable fabrication of three-dimensionally quasi-ordered macroporous TiO2 for high performance lithium-ion battery applications

A facile and controllable strategy for preparing three-dimensionally quasi-ordered macroporous (3DOM) TiO2 has been developed through in situ hydrolysis on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) gelated crystalline colloidal array (GCCA) photonic crystal films. The presence of PVA hydrogel in the PVA GCCA results in a non-close-packed structure and an increase in the hydrophilic character of the template, which contribute to a more uniform wetting of the template during the infiltration process. The resulting 3DOM TiO2 as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) exhibits a high rate capability and excellent cycle performance. The method presented in this paper is versatile and can be expanded for preparing various quasi-order macroporous materials.