Microspherical Na2Ti3O7 prepared by spray-drying method as anode material for sodium-ion battery

We report here the spherical Na2Ti3O7 synthesized by spray drying of the sol-gel prepared precursor suspension and followed by a solid-state calcination as advanced anode material for sodium-ion battery. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy analyses show the spherical powders consisting of well-crystallized Na2Ti3O7 primary particles surrounded three-dimensional porous structure. Electrochemical performance was investigated by charge/discharge measurement exhibiting the charge capacity of 93.1 mAh g(-1) even at current rate of 5C after 50th cycle. The electrochemical performance at high current rate is better than that of by a solid-state reaction method. Na2Ti3O7 synthesized by combing spraying-dry and sol-gel method is one of the promising candidates as the anode material of sodium-ion battery. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.