Simple preparation of petal-like TiO2 nanosheets as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

We demonstrate a simple and green approach for the synthesis of one kind of anatase TiO 2 nanosheets. The method is based on a hydrothermal method under normal atmosphere without using the complex Teflon-lined autoclave, high concentrations NaOH solution and long reaction time. The as-prepared materials are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and electrochemical measurements. The obtained anatase TiO 2 nanosheets show excellent performance. There is one pair of potential plateaus at 1.7 and 1.9 V in the process of Li insertion and extraction, and the initial Li insertion/extraction capacities are 382 and 326 mA h g −1 at the current density of 20 mA g −1 , respectively. After 50 cycles, the TiO 2 retains 93% of the initial charge capacity at the current density of 400 mA g −1 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]