• Clean Technology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.177-182
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• 2012

Mesoporous anatase $TiO_2$ nanoparticles have been synthesized by a hydrothermal method using a tri-block copolymer as a soft template. The resulting $TiO_2$ materials have a high specific surface area of $230\;m^2/g$, a predominant pore size of 6.8 nm and a pore volume of 0.404 mL/g. The electrochemical properties of mesoporous anatase $TiO_2$ for lithium ion battery (LIB) anode materials have been investigated by typical coin cell tests. The initial discharge capacity of these materials is 240 mAh/g, significantly higher than the theoretical capacity (175 mAh/g) of LTO ($Li_4Ti_5O_{12}$). Although the discharge capacity decreases with the C-rate increase, the mesoporous $TiO_2$ is very promising for LIB anode because the surface for the Li insertion is presented significantly with mesopores. Nitrogen doping has a certain effect to control the capacity decrease by improving the electron transport in $TiO_2$ framework.