Synthesis and Characterization of Stable and Binder‐Free Electrodes of TiO2 Nanofibers for Li‐Ion Batteries

An electrospinning technique was used to fabricate TiO2 nanofibers for use as binder‐free electrodes for lithium‐ion batteries. The as‐electrospun nanofibers were calcined at 400–1,000°C and characterized using X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). SEM and TEM images showed that the fibers have an average diameter of ~100 nm and are composed of nanocrystallites and grains, which grow in size as the calcination temperature increases. The electrochemical properties of the nanofibers were evaluated using galvanostatic cycling and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The TiO2 nanofibers calcined at 400°C showed higher electronic conductivity, higher discharge capacity, and better cycling performance than the nanofibers calcined at 600, 800, and 1,000°C. The TiO2 nanofibers calcined at 400°C delivered an initial reversible capacity of 325 mAh·g−1 approaching their theoretical value at 0.1 C rate and over 175 mAh·g−1 at 0.3 C rate with limited capacity fading and Coulombic efficiency between 96 and 100%.