Titanium dioxide nanoparticles dispersed in heteroatom-doped carbon nanofibers for ultrafast lithium storage

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to its low price, excellent cycling stability, low operating voltage, and environmentally friendly nature. However, owing to their poor electrical and ionic diffusion, TiO₂ anodes show low specific capacity and poor high-rate performance. In this study, in an attempt to improve the electrical and ionic diffusion properties, we dispersed TiO₂ nanoparticles into N-and P-doped carbon nanofibers (N/P-doped CNF/TiO₂) using the hydrothermal, electrospinning, and carbonization processes. The N/P-doped CNF/TiO₂ electrode showed high specific capacity (311.5 mAh g⁻¹ at 100 mA g⁻¹ after 100 cycles), outstanding high-rate performance (286 mAh g⁻¹ at 2000 mA g⁻¹), and excellent ultrafast cycling stability (285 mAh g⁻¹ at 2000 mA g⁻¹ after 500 cycles). The results showed that dispersing TiO₂ nanoparticles into N-and P-doped CNFs is an efficient approach to improve their electrical conductivity, shorten their lithium ion diffusion pathways, and stabilize the electrochemical conditions for ionic diffusion during ultrafast cycling.