Photocatalytic Synthesis of TiO2 and Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite for Lithium Ion Battery

In this work, we synthesized graphene oxide (GO) using the improved Hummers’ oxidation method. TiO2 nanoparticles can be anchored on the GO sheets via the abundant oxygen-containing functional groups such as epoxy, hydroxyl, carbonyl, and carboxyl groups on the GO sheets. Using the TiO2 photocatalyst, the GO was photocatalytically reduced under UV illumination, leading to the production of TiO2-reduced graphene oxide (TiO2-RGO) nanocomposite. The as-prepared TiO2, TiO2-GO, and TiO2-RGO nanocomposite were used to fabricate lithium ion batteries (LIBs) as the active anode materials and their corresponding lithium ion insertion/extraction performance was evaluated. The resultant LIBs of the TiO2-RGO nanocomposite possesses more stable cyclic performance, larger reversible capacity, and better rate capability, compared with that of the pure TiO2 and TiO2-GO samples. The electrochemical and materials characterization suggest that the graphene network provides efficient pathways for electron transfer, and the TiO2 nanoparticles prevent the restacking of the graphene nanosheets, resulting in the improvement in both electric conductivity and specific capacity, respectively. This work suggests that the TiO2 based photocatalytic method could be a simple, low-cost, and efficient approach for large-scale production of anode materials for lithium ion batteries.