Electrochemical performance of SiOC anodes prepared by a different silicone

SiOC is one of the most promising anodes for lithium-ion batteries, which shows the good structural stability and high capacity comparing to commercial graphite anode. In this paper, different SiOC anodes (SiOC-217, SiOC-H44, and SiOC-MK) were prepared from polymer precursors with different side groups (phenyl, methyl-phenyl, methyl) to investigate the effects of free carbon on the electrochemical performance of SiOC anodes. The results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy presented that SiOC was composed by different SiO_xC_4−x units and free carbon phase. The initial discharge capacity of SiOC-217 was 742.67 mA h g⁻¹. After 100 cycles, the reversible capacity of SiOC-217 reached 450.65 mA h g⁻¹ at 0.2 C, indicating a capacity retention rate of 60.68%. After cycling at high current densities, SiOC-217 exhibited a high discharge capacity of 592.88 mA h g⁻¹ at 0.1 C. SiOC-217 exhibited excellent electrochemical performance due to the high content of free carbon phase. Furthermore, the high contents of SiO₂C₂ and SiO₃C units further enhanced the improvement of electrochemical performance.     

Lithium storage behaviors of PbNb2O6 in rechargeable batteries

Herein, we propose a new anode material, PbNb₂O₆, for use in lithium-ion batteries. PbNb₂O₆ can be synthesized via a simple and traditional solid-state method. The as-prepared powder exhibits an average size distribution of about 0.5 μm. When tested in a lithium-ion cell, the PbNb₂O₆ electrode can exhibit a charge capacity of 245.2 mAh g⁻¹ at 200 mA g⁻¹, and after 80 cycles, the capacity can retain a charge capacity of 181.4 mAh g⁻¹, showing 0.32% capacity fading per cycle. Furthermore, the capacity of the PbNb₂O₆ electrode is 223.1 mAh g⁻¹, even when cycled at 1000 mA g⁻¹, and a capacity of 150.7 mAh g⁻¹ is maintained up to 500 cycles. In addition, the lithiation mechanism of PbNb₂O₆ is investigated via various techniques. Interestingly, PbNb₂O₆ exhibits high capacity without the contribution of two redox couples of niobium after the initial cycles. Finally, all Results suggest that PbNb₂O₆ has potential for use as an electrode in lithium-ion batteries.     

Hybrid cathode composed of pyrite-structure CoS2 hollow polyhedron and Ketjen black@sulfur materials propelling polysulfide conversion in lithium sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur (Li–S) batteries are considered to have great prospects in advanced energy storage devices in the future and have been considered in recent years. However, the shuttling of Li-polysulfides in electrolytes and sluggish electrochemical kinetics of polysulfides hinder the development of Li–S batteries. To address these stumbling blocks, we introduced pyrite-structure CoS₂ hollow polyhedron modification of Ketjen black@sulfur (CoS₂/KB@S) composite that adsorbs and provides sufficient sites with Li-polysulfides interaction. The CoS₂ hollow polyhedron has a pivotal effect on the adsorption and catalysis performance of the polysulfides, which further accelerates the redox kinetics. Consequently, the CoS₂/KB@S cathode with 3.1 mg cm⁻² sulfur loading attained a high discharge capacity of 0.5 C current density and reversible capacity was 437 mA h g⁻¹ after 500 cycles, which displayed great stability and the capacity attenuation rate of per cycle was only 0.1%. Meanwhile, it also shows excellent rate capabilities and still maintains a high capacity of 527 mA h g⁻¹ at 2 C current density. Even at high sulfur loading of 5.1 mg cm⁻², the CoS₂/KB@S electrode still delivers a high initial area capacity of 4.36 mA h cm⁻² at 0.3 C with capacity retention capacity of 3.63 mA h cm⁻² after 100 cycles. The cyclic and rate properties of CoS₂/KB@S were greatly improved over that of KB@S. The results suggest the multifunction pyrite-structure CoS₂ hollow polyhedron that anchors effectively and catalysis is beneficial to realize the goal of large-scale application for Li–S batteries.     

Multilayer Si@SiOx@void@C anode materials synthesized via simultaneously carbonization and redox for Li-ion batteries

In the development of high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the composition and structure of electrode materials are of critical importance. Silicon has a theoretical specific capacity 10 times that of graphite, nonetheless, its application as an anode material confronts challenge as it undergoes huge volume change and pulverization amidst the alloying and dealloying processes. Herein, a novel method to prepare a multilayer Si-based anode was proposed. Three layers, SiO₂, nickel and triethylene glycol (TEG), were coated successively on Si nanoparticles, which served respectively as the sources of SiO_x, sacrificial templates and carbon. Nickel can not only serve as a hollow template, but also play a catalytic role, which makes carbonization and redox reactions occur synchronously under a mild condition. Amid the carbonization process of TEG at 450 °C, several-nm-thick SiO₂ layer can react with the as-derived carbon to form a silicon suboxides (SiO_x (0 < x < 2)) intermedium layer. After removing the nickel template, a micro-nano scaled Si@SiO_x@void@C with conformal multilayer-structure can be obtained. The BET specific surface area and pore volume of powders were increased dramatically because of the derivation of abundant voids, which can not only buffer the swelling effect of silicon, but also provide richer ionic conductivity. The as-assembled half-cell with Si@SiOx@void@C as the anode material possesses high capacity (～1000 mAh g^?1 at 3 A g^?1), long cycle life (300 cycles with 77% capacity retention) and good rate performance (558 mAh g^?1 at 5 A g^?1).     

Electrochemical performance of Li4Ti5O12 anode materials synthesized using a spray-drying method

In this study, spinel lithium titanate (Li₄Ti₅O₁₂, LTO) anode materials were synthesized from two titanium sources (P25 TiO₂, 100% anatase TiO₂) using a spray-drying method and subsequent calcination at various temperatures. The electrochemical performance of both a Li/LTO half cell and a LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄/LTO (LNMO/LTO) full cell were investigated. The electrochemical performance of the LTO material prepared from P25 TiO₂ was superior to that of the LTO prepared from 100% anatase TiO₂. After modification of LTO material with AlPO₄, the LTO coated with 2 wt% of AlPO₄ (denoted “2%AlPO₄-LTO”) provided the best performances. The specific (delithiation) capacities of the 2%AlPO₄-LTO anode material was 189.7 mA h g⁻¹ at 0.1C/0.1C, 184.5 mA h g⁻¹ at 1C/1C, 178.8 mA h g⁻¹ at 5C/5C, and 173.1 mA h g⁻¹ at 10C/10C. From long-term cycling stability tests, the specific capacity at the first cycle and the capacity retention after cycling were 185.5 mA h g⁻¹ and 98.06%, respectively, after 200 cycles at 1C/1C and 182.1 mA h g⁻¹ and 99.18%, respectively, after 100 cycles at 1C/10C. For the LNMO/2%AlPO₄-LTO full cell, the average specific capacity (delithiation) and coulombic efficiency after the first five cycles were 164.8 mA h g⁻¹ and 93.30%, respectively, at 0.1C/0.1C. The specific capacities at higher C-rates were 156.1 mA h g⁻¹ at 0.2C/0.2C, 135.7 mA h g⁻¹ at 1C/1C, 97.5 mA h g⁻¹ at 3C/3C, and 46.5 mA h g⁻¹ at 5C/5C. After twenty-five cycles, the C-rate returned to 1C/1C and the specific capacity, coulombic efficiency, and capacity retention were maintained at 134.1 mA h g⁻¹, 99.17%, and 98.82%, respectively.     

Si nanoparticles encapsulated in CNTs arrays with tubular sandwich structure for high performance Li ion battery

Silicon has been widely researched as next-generation lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) anodes on account of its high energy density. To solve the large volume expansion and low electroconductivity, carbon coating Si strategies have been developed and shown some progress. In this study, Si nanoparticles were injected into the inner of the double-deck carbon nanotubes for the formation of a sandwich-like structure to enhance the electrochemical properties of Si electrodes. Thereinto, carbon nanotube arrays (CNTs) were fabricated by liquid paraffin as the carbon resource instead of unsaturated hydrocarbon for the first time by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Due to the advantage of the specific structure designed, the as-prepared material shows superior rate performance and excellent cycling stability with high capacity retention (1310 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹ after 100 cycles and 1050 mAh g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹ after 500 cycles with 98% of Coulombic efficiency). Furthermore, the full cell was also assembled with LiFePO₄ as the cathode and manifested a high energy density of 374 Whkg⁻¹ with stable cycling performances (92% capacity retention ratio after 200 cycles).     

Electrospinning-derived ZnCo2O4@carbon nanofiber composite for high-performance lithium ion storage

The degradation of the cobalt-zinc oxide structure and its poor conductivity during the charge and discharge limit their further applications for lithium ion storage. Herein, ZnCo₂O₄@carbon nanofiber composite with nano-fibrous structure is obtained by electrospinning, annealing in argon and low-temperature oxidation to effectively overcome the above issue. The active sites of ZnCo₂O₄ are evenly dispersed inside the carbon nanofibers, which can effectively avoid its aggregation and improve electrical conductivity. Additionally, the stable nanofibrous structure can maintain structural stability. The composite exhibits superior lithium ion storage capacity when being served as anode electrode. The ZnCo₂O₄@carbon nanofiber electrode possesses a high capacity of 1071 mA h g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹. Besides, the electrode shows an outstanding rate capability of 505 mA h g⁻¹ at 3 A g⁻¹ and maintain 714 mA h g⁻¹ after 250 cycles when current density is adjusted to 0.2 A g⁻¹ again. Additionally, the electrode has an outstanding long-cycle performance, which remains a capacity of 447.165 mA h g⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹ after 500 cycles and 421.477 mA h g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹ after 518 cycles. This result demonstrates that ZnCo₂O₄@carbon nanofiber composite has potential application prospects in the fields of advanced energy storage.     

Preparation and optimization of ZrO2 modified P2-type Na2/3Ni1/6Co1/6Mn2/3O2 with enhanced electrochemical performance as cathode for sodium ion batteries

Surface stabilization is necessary for cathode materials to gain a long-term cycling stability because of unfavorable side reactions and exfoliation caused by corrosive environment. To improve the cyclic stability of P2-type ternary cathode Na_2/3Ni_1/6Co_1/6Mn_2/3O₂ for sodium ion batteries, we prepare a ZrO₂-coated Na_2/3Ni_1/6Co_1/6Mn_2/3O₂ through a simple wet chemical method. The coating layer is distributed homogeneously on the surface, and the fraction of ZrO₂ (1 wt-%, 2 wt-%, 3 wt-%, 4 wt-%, 5 wt-%) helps control the thickness of the coating layer. It turns out that all the materials exhibit pure P2 structure without any impurities. The material with a 2 wt-% ZrO₂ coating exhibits the best electrochemical performance in rate capability and long-term cyclic stability. It delivers a superior initial discharge capacity of 140 mA h·g⁻¹ between 2 and 4.5 V at 20 mA g⁻¹. Even cycles at high current density (100 mA g⁻¹), it shows 106 mA h·g⁻¹ reversible discharge capacity with 88% capacity retention after 300 cycles. The improvement in electrochemical performance is attributed to the segregation of cathode materials from the corrosive electrolyte by the nano-sized ZrO₂ layer. The EIS results confirm that a thin ZrO₂ coating layer can effectively protect the electrode from dissolution and stabilize the SEI film. This study can be used to develop the electrochemical performance of cathode materials for sodium ion batteries by surface modification via ZrO₂.     

Electrooxidation and dischargeability of transition-metal borides as possible anodic materials in neutral aqueous electrolytes

A number of transition-metal borides were studied as anodic materials for neutral aqueous batteries. These borides are shown to have considerably high electrochemical activities in neutral electrolytes. The discharge capacities for TiB₂ reach 1,350 mAh g⁻¹ at a constant current density of 50 mA g⁻¹, exceeding those for all the metal electrodes reported so far. Amorphous CoB_x can deliver a discharge capacity of >650 mAh g⁻¹, and even simply ball-milled FeB_x can also give a discharge capacity of >200 mAh g⁻¹. These results suggest the possible use of boride compounds as a large family of new anodic materials for constructing neutral aqueous batteries with high electrochemical capacity and rate capability.     

Nanoparticles constructed mesoporous coral-like Mn2O3 as high performance anode for lithium-ion batteries

As well established, the morphology and architecture of electrode materials greatly contribute to the electrochemical properties. Herein, a novel structure of mesoporous coral-like manganese (III) oxide (Mn₂O₃) is synthesized via a facile solvothermal method coupled with the carbonization under air. When fabricated as anode electrode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the as-prepared Mn₂O₃ exhibits good electrochemical properties, showing a high discharge capacity of 1090.4 mAh g^?1 at 0.1 A g^?1, and excellent rate performance of 410.4 mAh g^?1 at 2 A g^?1. Furthermore, it maintains the reversible discharge capacity of 1045 mAh g^?1 at 0.1 A g^?1 after 380 cycles, and 755 mAh g^?1 at 1 A g^?1 after 450 cycles. The durable cycling stability and outstanding rate performance can be attributed to its unique 3D mesoporous structure, which is favorable for increasing active area and shortening Li⁺ diffusion distance.     

Investigation the sodium storage kinetics of H1.07Ti1.73O4@rGO composites for high rate and long cycle performance

Insertion type material has been attracted plenty of attentions as the anode of sodium ion batteries (SIBs) due to the low volume change induced long cycle stability. H_1.07Ti_1.73O₄ (HTO), a two-dimensional layered material, is a new insertion type anode material for SIBs reported in this study. Layered HTO composites were decorated with rGO nanosheets via an electrostatic assembly method followed by hydrothermal treatment. When adapted as the anode material of SIBs, HTO@rGO composite exhibits an enhanced sodium ion storage behavior, including high rate capability and long cycle stability. It can deliver high capacities of 142.8 and 66.7 mA h g⁻¹ at 100 and 10 000 mA g⁻¹, respectively. Moreover, it can keep a capacity of 75.1 mA h g⁻¹ at 5 A g⁻¹ after even 5000 cycles, corresponding to a high capacity retention of 70.8% (0.0058% capacity decay per cycle). HTO exhibits a small volume expansion of 19.6% by in-situ transmission electron microscopy (in-situ TEM). The diffusion coefficient of sodium ions is increased from 1.77 × 10⁻¹⁴ cm² s⁻¹ in HTO composites to 4.80 × 10⁻¹⁴ cm² s⁻¹ in HTO@rGO composites. Our designed and synthesized HTO@rGO provides a new route for high rate and long cycle stable SIBs anode materials.     

Piezoelectric-driven self-accelerated anion migration for SiOX-C/PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 with durable lithium storage performance

Silicon oxides (SiO_X) based materials with great specific capacity and suitable working potential have caused widespread concern. During alloying process, the volume expansion of SiO_X is approximately 200%, which limits its practical application for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). For the purpose of surmounting the shortcomings of large volume change, a lot of efforts have been made, such as regulating the structure and morphology of active materials, incorporating with other conductive materials, and matching the suitable battery systems. However, to date, the volume expansion of SiO_X anode in the cycle process cannot be absolutely avoided due to its intrinsic characteristics. In this work, these seeming drawback is creatively exploited to increase the electrochemical performance of SiO_X materials. PbZr_0.52Ti_0.48O₃ (PZT) is taken advantage as functional addition agent, which is based on piezoelectric effect elicited by volume expansion of SiO_X. Specifically, the large volume change of SiO_X-C could be transmitted to PZT particles, thus resulting in a polarization process. Then the piezoelectric potential is generated, so as to promote Li ⁺ mobility. SiO_X-C/PZT was synthesized via a sol-gel method and high energy ball-milling procedure. Accordingly, SiO_X-C/PZT anode exhibits excellent the superior cycling capability, it retains 570 mA h g^-1 after 200 cycles at 400 mA g^-1. Besides, it also has stable long-cycling life (430 mA h g^-1 after 500 cycles at 500 mA g^-1 with a retention of 75%). The relevant results demonstrate that PZT piezoelectric material can favorably increase the electrochemical property of SiO_X anode materials.     

Carbon-coated porous Si/C composite anode materials via two-step etching/coating processes for lithium-ion batteries

A highly stable Si/SiO_x/C composite was synthesized in this study through NaOH etching and carbon-coating approaches for use as an anode material in Li-ion batteries (LIBs). The two-step process not only enhanced the electronic conductivity of the as-synthesized Si/SiO_x/C composite by using the two-step etching/coating processes to enhance the columbic efficiency of Si during cycling processes but also architecturally provided an amorphous Si/SiO_x composite to buffer volume expansion. The Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction results demonstrate that the etching process involves a transition from crystalline Si to amorphous SiO_x. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results further confirm that the vibration mode of Si–O bonding changes from symmetric to asymmetric. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis reveals that we can control specific surface area and pore-size distribution of NaOH-modified Si by tuning the parameters pertaining to the solid content of Si in NaOH solution. After optimizing the etching and carbon-coating processes, the modified Si/C composite delivered ~780 mAh g⁻¹ for more than 200 cycles at 0.5C, which was better than un-modified one of 315 mAh g⁻¹ after 200 cycles. The results clearly indicate that we could improve cycle stability of Si anode drastically through the NaOH etching process and carbon coating modification. The proposed methodology may provide a potential approach to promoting the synthesis of Si-based anodes for use in the commercial applications of LIBs.     

Flower-like hierarchical Li1.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mn0.54O2 by architectural design for lithium-ion batteries with superior capacity retention

In this work, hierarchical flower-like Li_1.2Ni_0.13Co_0.13Mn_0.54O₂ (LNCM) with exposed {010} planes assembled and double-sphere Li_1.2Ni_0.13Co_0.13Mn_0.54O₂ without {010} planes as a comparison were successfully synthesized via a simple solvothermal method. The diffusion of Li⁺ could be enhanced in the flower-like LNCM with exposed {010} active planes, and the cathode exhibits a superior electrochemical performance especially in long-term cycling stability even at high current densities. The initial discharge capacity of this sample is 274 mA h g⁻¹ at 0.1C (25 mA g⁻¹), with corresponding initial coulombic efficiencies of 77%. Especially, the capacity retention reaches up to 98% at 1250 mA g⁻¹ current density after 100 cycles. By comparing with other LNCM materials reported recently, our optimal cathode has a pretty outstanding electrochemical performance, which is promising for the next generation lithium ion batteries.     

ZnIn2S4: A promising anode material with high electrochemical performance for sodium-ion batteries

In this study, ZnIn₂S₄ (B-ZIS) and ZnIn₂S₄/C (S-ZIS) composites anode are synthesized using hydrothermal method and followed by ball-milling process. The initial discharge/charge capacities for bare ZnIn₂S₄ (B-ZIS) are 524 and 378 mAh g⁻¹ under a current density of 1 A g⁻¹, which suffers from gradually capacity fading. To improve its cycle stability, high-energy ball-milling process (HEBM) with carbon black is applied to fabricate S-ZIS spherical particles. The as-obtained composite anode exhibits enhanced electrochemical performances not only on cycle stability, but also reversible capacity. The discharge and charge capacity of S-ZIS approach to 823 and 679 mAh g⁻¹ at the first cycle and retain 468 and 459 mAh g⁻¹ after 500 cycles at the high current density of 1 A g⁻¹. Furthermore, ex situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) and ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques are used to monitor the evaluation of crystal structure of B-ZIS during charge and discharge processes. The results indicate that the metallic Zn and In were observed at low potential voltage during sodiation process and successfully converted back to spinel phase at above 0.5 V. The presence of high reversibility nature of B-ZIS may leads to the superior cycling and excellent rate capability of S-ZIS which makes ZnIn₂S₄ a potential anode material of sodium ion batteries.     

Modified polysulfides conversion catalysis and confinement by employing La2O3 nanorods in high performance lithium-sulfur batteries

The development of lithium-sulfur batteries (LSB) was hindered due to the shuttling of Li-polysulfides in electrolytes and sluggish electrochemical kinetics of polysulfides. To address these stumbling blocks, we introduced La₂O₃ nanorods modification of ketjen black@sulfur (La₂O₃/KB@S) composite that adsorbs and provides sufficient sites with Li-polysufides interaction. The La₂O₃ nanorods play a key role in the adsorption and catalysis performance of the polysulfides, which further accelerate the redox kinetics. Consequently, the La₂O₃/KB@S cathode with sulfur loading of 3.1 mg cm⁻² attained a high initial discharge capacity of 833 mAh g⁻¹ at a 0.5C rate and displayed excellent cyclic stability with reversible capacity of 380 mAh g⁻¹ after 500 cycles with an average of 98% coulombic efficiency. Further, even with high sulfur loading of 5 mg cm⁻², the La₂O₃/KB@S cathode also presents a capacity of 4.9 mAh at 0.3C and still maintains a stable value of 3.87 mAh after 150 cycles. The results suggest the multifunction La₂O₃ nanorods anchoring effectively and catalyzing are beneficial to realize the goal of the large-scale application with high load active materials and high-performance LSB.     

An environmentally friendly and low-cost catalyst for Li–CO2 batteries based on Co recovered from waste lithium-ion batteries

With the use of lithium batteries increasing year by year, resulting in a large number of waste lithium-ion batteries generated, bringing pressure to the ecological system while also causing a waste of Co resources. Although Co-based catalysts are also of interest in the Li–CO₂ system, no research has been reported on the preparation of catalysts for value-added utilization of recovered Co. In this paper, Li–CO₂ batteries with Co₃O₄/CNT cathodes were prepared by environmentally friendly hydrothermal method employing cobalt oxalate recycled from waste lithium-ion batteries as a Co source in combination with commercial CNT. Unlike traditional noble metal and transition metal-based catalysts, which are expensive and complicated, this work can further reduce the cost of batteries by recycling valuable Co sources from waste lithium-ion batteries. As a result, the battery has the discharge capacity of 2728 mAh g^?1 at a current density of 100 mA g^?1. Not only that, but it can reach more than 85 cycles at a limited capacity of 400 mAh g^?1.     

Ultrafine SnO2 nanoparticles as a high performance anode material for lithium ion battery

In this paper, the ultrafine tin oxides (SnO₂) nanoparticles are fabricated by a facile microwave hydrothermal method with the mean size of only 14 nm. Phase compositions and microstructures of the as-prepared nanoparticles have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was found that the ultrafine SnO₂ nanoparticles are obtained to be the pure rutile-structural phase with the good dispersibility. Galvanostatic cycling and cyclic voltammetry results indicate that the first discharge capacity of the ultrafine SnO₂ electrode is 1196.63  mAh g⁻¹, and the reversible capacity could retain 272.63 mAh g⁻¹ at 100 mA g⁻¹ after 50 cycles for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). The excellent electrochemical performance of the SnO₂ anode for LIBs is attributed to its ultrafine nanostructure for providing active sites during lithium insertion/extraction processes. Pulverization and agglomeration of the active materials are effectively reduced by the microwave hydrothermal method.     

Amorphous CoS nanoparticle/reduced graphene oxide composite as high-performance anode material for sodium-ion batteries

Transition metal sulfides have been proved as promising candidates of anode materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to their high sodium storage capacity, low cost and enhanced safety. In this study, the amorphous CoS nanoparticle/reduced graphene oxide (CoS/rGO) composite has been fabricated by a facile one-step electron beam radiation route to in situ decorate amorphous CoS nanoparticle on the rGO nanosheets. Benefiting from the small particle size (~2 nm), amorphous structure, and electronic conductive rGO nanosheets, the CoS/rGO nanocomposite exhibits high sodium storage capacity (440 mAh g⁻¹ at 100 mA g⁻¹), excellent cycling stability (277 mAh g⁻¹ after 100 cycles at 200 mA g⁻¹, 79.6% capacity retention) and high rate capability (149.5 mAh g⁻¹ at 2 A g⁻¹). The results provide a facile approach to fabricate promising amorphous and ultrafine metal sulfides for energy storage.     

CNT@TiO2 nanohybrids for high-performance anode of lithium-ion batteries

This work describes a potential anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), namely, anatase TiO₂ nanoparticle-decorated carbon nanotubes (CNTs@TiO₂). The electrochemical properties of CNTs@TiO₂ were thoroughly investigated using various electrochemical techniques, including cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, galvanostatic cycling, and rate experiments. It was revealed that compared with pure TiO₂ nanoparticles and CNTs alone, the CNT@TiO₂ nanohybrids offered superior rate capability and achieved better cycling performance when used as anodes of LIBs. The CNT@TiO₂ nanohybrids exhibited a cycling stability with high reversible capacity of about 190 mAh g^-1 after 120 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g^-1 and an excellent rate capability (up to 100 mAh g^-1 at a current density of 1,000 mA g^-1).