Physical and electrochemical properties of porous TiO2 coated silicon prepared with different amounts of basic catalyst of NH4OH

Abstract

Encapsulated porous TiO2-coated silicon (TiO2@Si) was prepared by a modified sol-gel method for use as the anode material of lithium secondary batteries. The shell around the porous TiO2 not only acts as a buffer matrix against the volume expansion of silicon during repeated charging-discharging, but also enhances the dispersion of silicon particles. The amount of the basic catalyst NH4OH during the sol-gel reaction plays an important role in the formation of the TiO2 coating structure, which significantly affects its electrochemical characteristics.