Greatly Enhanced Electronic Conduction and Lithium Storage of Faceted TiO₂ Crystals Supported on Metallic Substrates by Tuning Crystallographic Orientation of TiO₂

Electronic conduction along the [001] direction of a faceted anatase TiO2 particle in contact with two tungsten probes is found to be an order of magnitude higher than that along the [010] direction due to a smaller potential barrier of the TiO2 (001)-tungsten interface for electron transport than the TiO2 (010)-tungsten interface. This finding could guide the design of TiO2 -based electrodes.