Electrospun Titanium Dioxide and Silicon Composite Nanofibers for Advanced Lithium Ion Batteries

Author

Kathleen McCormac, Georgia Southern UniversityFollow

Term of Award

Spring 2015

Degree Name

Master of Science in Applied Physical Science (M.S.)

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Department of Electrical Engineering

Committee Chair

Ji Wu

Committee Member 1

Rafael Quirino

Committee Member 2

John Stone

Abstract

A unique electrospinning method was implemented to fabricate composite nanofibers for lithium ion battery applications. The composite nanofibers were made of amorphous carbon, rutile phase TiO₂, and cubic phase Si nanoparticles. Sulfur was utilized as a template to form void structures within the TiO₂ nanofiber matrix. This provides the desired space for the Si expansion during the lithiation process. Phase, structure, composition, and morphology of the nanofibers were characterized using Raman spectroscopy, SEM, EDS, TGA, and powder XRD. Carbonized TiO₂ nanofibers showed a low but stable specific capacity. Si Nanoparticles demonstrated an initially high but fast degrading capacity. In contrast, silicon in SiNP/C/TiO₂ nanofibers with sulfur as a template exhibits an impressive high specific capacity of ~3459 mAh g^-1initially, 54% of which can be maintained after 180 cycles.

Recommended Citation

McCormac, K., et al., Preparation of porous Si and TiO2 nanofibres using a sulphur-templating method for lithium storage. 2015: p. 1-5. DOI: 10.1002/pssa.201431834.