Abstract
This paper reports the successful facile synthesis and characterization of Sn-doped TiO2(B) nanotubes by heat treatment of Sn2+-doped protonated titanate nanotubes (H2T3O7 NTs) under argon atmosphere. The prepared nanotubes were examined in detail in terms of their structural and morphological properties using various techniques such as X-ray diffraction; scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The detailed characterizations revealed that the prepared materials are nanotubes which are grown in very high density and possessing monoclinic structure. Further, the prepared nanotubes were used as anode material for the fabrication of efficient lithium ion battery. Interestingly, it was observed that, as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, the prepared Sn-doped TiO2(B) nanotubes (TiO2(B) NTs) exhibited a capacity of 241.6 mAh g(-1) after 100 discharge/charge cycles at 0.1 C, and retain 115.9 mAh g(-1) after 10 cycles at 2 C. Apparently, the Sn2+ doping is improving the electrical conductivity and interface between electrode and electrolyte, which is highly useful to shorten Li+ transmission distance. The presented work demonstrates that Sn-doped TiO2(B) nanotubes might present themselves as a promising negative electrode material for the fabrication of efficient lithium-ion batteries.