Arginine-Assisted Formation of Hierarchical TiO2 Microspheres for Lithium-Ion and Sodium-Ion Battery Applications

A facile route was established to synthesize hierarchically structured high specific surface area (122 m2 g−1) TiO2 microspheres (diameter: 0.5–1 μm). In a heated Teflon‐coated stainless‐steel autoclave, titanium tetrabutoxide Ti(OBu)4, arginine, and absolute ethanol were reacted via the solvothermal reaction to generate the TiO2 precursor. The as‐formed precursor solid was further processed at 673 K under air to generate the TiO2 microspheres of nanosheets (thickness: 18 nm). The products were examined as potential anode materials for Li‐ion and Na‐ion batteries. After 100 cycles at 0.1 C (1C=335 mA h g−1), the assembled batteries showed respectable specific capacity 241 mA h g−1 and 145 mA h g−1 for Li‐ion and Na‐ion batteries, respectively. After high temperature oxidation of the precursor prepared via a solvothermal reaction using Ti(OBu)4, arginine, and ethanol, hierarchically structured high specific surface area microspheres of TiO2 nanosheets are formed. The solid can be employed as a potential anode material for Li‐ion and Na‐ion batteries.