Electrochemical studies of mesoporous and copper-modified mesoporous TiO2 -anode material

. Herein, we developed a method to synthesize highly ordered mesoporous TiO 2 (MT) and copper-modified M- TiO 2 (CMT) with a high surface area by the hydrothermal method using Pluronic P-123 as a surfactant at 150 ° C. CMT with different copper concentrations (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3%) was synthesized. The structural characterization studies revealed that MT and CMT particles are in anatase phase. The average particle size was found to be 24 ± 0 . 8 nm for MT and that of CMT was 25 ± 0 . 6 , 27 ± 0 . 4 and 28 ± 0 . 3 nm, respectively. The presence of ordered spherical MT and CMT particles with uniform size distribution was confirmed by performing morphological studies using FE-SEM. Optical absorption studies indicate the presence of copper because of the red shift in the band gap and also a broad peak around 800nm when compared with MT. EIS studies point out an increase in conductivity from MT through 0.3% CMT by a decrease in the charge transfer resistance. Further, charge-discharge studies were carried on this material at room temperature for lithium-ion battery applications. CMT with 0.3% copper showed high initial discharge capacity and better cyclability. The results indicate that this material can act as a promising negative electrode.