Conformal electrodeposition of poly(phenylene oxide) on TiO sub(2) nanotube arrays with high performance for lithium ion battery

In order to improve electrochemical performances of lithium ion battery (LIB), electrochemical integration of the membrane with the electrode was accomplished by conformal electrodeposition of poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO) on three-dimensional (3D) oriented TiO sub(2) nanotube arrays (TiO sub(2)NT). The as-synthesized PPO/TiO sub(2)NT membrane/electrode was investigated in terms of AC impedance, XPS, SEM, EDX, galvanostatic charge/discharge, rate performance, and cycle stability. As expected, PPO was indeed combined with TiO sub(2)NT via conformal electrodeposition; furthermore, the integrated PPO/TiO sub(2)NT membrane/electrode delivered much better rate performance than the traditional membrane/electrode, mainly attributed to large area of membrane/electrode/electrolyte, short ionic diffusion paths and fast ionic transport. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43685.