Coaxial titanium nitride/multi-walled carbon nanotubes composites for high-performance lithium ion batteries

In this work, titanium nitride/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (TiN/MWCNTs) composites have been successfully prepared by a simple sol-gel method combined with ammonia annealing and then subjected to anode for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). TiN shells are homogeneously anchored on MWCNTs cores to form coaxial structure. Such TiN/MWCNTs composites with one-dimensional structure have rich nanopores, which can facilitate electrolyte access and provide rapid ion transportation. In addition, both TiN and MWCNTs have good conductivity, which is favorable to improve electron transfer. When employed as anode material for LIBs, the anodes based on TiN/MWCNTs delivered a high reversible capacity of 447 mA h g(-1) after 100 cycles at 300 mA g(-1), and outstanding cycling stabilities with a capacity of 385 mA h g(-1) after 500 cycles at 900 mA g(-1).