Enhanced Pseudo-Capacitive Contributions to High-Performance Sodium Storage in TiO2/C Nanofibers via Double Effects of Sulfur Modification

• Published in: Nano-micro letters Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 165
• Main Authors: Zhang, Yan, Huang, Yuanye, Srot, Vesna, van Aken, Peter A., Maier, Joachim, Yu, Yan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Singapore 14.08.2020; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Anodes; Bulk density; Chemical activity; Decoration; Doping; Electrodes; Energy storage; Engineering; Nanofibers; Nanoscale Science and Technology; Nanotechnology; Nanotechnology and Microengineering; Pseudo-capacitive; Reaction kinetics; Rechargeable batteries; Sodium; Sodium-ion batteries; Sodium-ion battery; Sulfur; Sulfur doped; TiO2/C nanofibers; Titanium dioxide; C nanofibers; Sodium-ion battery; Sulfur doped; TiO; Pseudo-capacitive; Anodes
• ISSN: 2311-6706; 2150-5551
• DOI: 10.1007/s40820-020-00506-1

Highlights One-dimensional elongated TiS 2 -modified and S-doped TiO 2 /C nanofibers electrode was synthesized through electrospinning, which exhibited a high specific capacity, excellent cyclic stability, and rate capability in sodium-ion battery. An enhanced pseudo-capacitive capacity because of S doping and TiS 2 decoration contributes to noticeable sodium storage performance. High capacity of 161 mAh g −1 (at 3000 mA g −1 ) after 1500 cycles and 58 mAh g −1 (at 10,000 mA g −1 ) after 10,000 cycles is delivered outstandingly. Pseudo-capacitive mechanisms can provide higher energy densities than electrical double-layer capacitors while being faster than bulk storage mechanisms. Usually, they suffer from low intrinsic electronic and ion conductivities of the active materials. Here, taking advantage of the combination of TiS 2 decoration, sulfur doping, and a nanometer-sized structure, as-spun TiO 2 /C nanofiber composites are developed that enable rapid transport of sodium ions and electrons, and exhibit enhanced pseudo-capacitively dominated capacities. At a scan rate of 0.5 mV s −1 , a high pseudo-capacitive contribution (76% of the total storage) is obtained for the S-doped TiS 2 /TiO 2 /C electrode (termed as TiS 2 /S-TiO 2 /C). Such enhanced pseudo-capacitive activity allows rapid chemical kinetics and significantly improves the high-rate sodium storage performance of TiO 2 . The TiS 2 /S-TiO 2 /C composite electrode delivers a high capacity of 114 mAh g −1 at a current density of 5000 mA g −1 . The capacity maintains at high level (161 mAh g −1 ) even after 1500 cycles and is still characterized by 58 mAh g −1 at the extreme condition of 10,000 mA g −1 after 10,000 cycles.