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Materials based on nickel- and zinc-doped TiO2(B), consisting of mesoporous nanorods, are produced via hydrothermal synthesis. Complementary methods are used to study the mechanism of doping and the physicochemical properties of the synthesized samples. According to the results of testing of materials in the cells of lithium- and sodium-ion batteries, it is found that the doping of TiO2(B) with nickel and zinc has a favorable effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, TiO2(B) metastable β-TiO2 or bronze TiO2 was doped with Zr4+ (Zr/Ti = 0.03; 0.06) through hydrothermal approach. The materials were shown to be nanobelts (thickness: 10–l5 nm, width: 50–100 nm, length: several micrometers, and specific surface area: 72–76 m2/g). Doping the TiO2(B) structure with Zr4+ was found to be accompanied by the formation of Ti1−xZrxO2(B) (x = 0.03; 0.06) solid solutions, where the unit cell volume increases as the zirconium content rises. For doped TiO2(B), electrical conductivity increased by two order of magnitude, from 1.6 × 10−11 in an undoped sample to 8.2 × 10−10 S/cm for Zr/Ti = 0.06. After 90 charge/discharge cycles at the C/10-rate, Ti0.94Zr0.06O2(B) electrode had a capacity of 165 (mA h)/g. For undoped TiO2(B), this parameter was only 135 (mA h)/g. Moreover, Ti0.94Zr0.06O2(B) retained a reversible capacity of about 107 (mA h)/g even under an increased current load (5C). The major factors influencing the electrochemical behavior of Ti0.94Zr0.06O2(B) are the enhanced stability of the structure to lithiation/delithiation and an improved electrical conductivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]