Eur. Phys. J. Plus (2018) 133: 179
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/i2018-11992-1

Regular Article

Electrochemical studies of mesoporous and copper-modified mesoporous TiO₂ -anode material

Advanced Functional Materials Research Centre, Department of Physics, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Vaddeswaram, Guntur, 522502, Andhra Pradesh, India

^* e-mail: rajesh8112@gmail.com

Received: 19 February 2018
Accepted: 28 March 2018
Published online: 9 May 2018

Abstract

Herein, we developed a method to synthesize highly ordered mesoporous TiO₂ (MT) and copper-modified M- TiO₂ (CMT) with a high surface area by the hydrothermal method using Pluronic P-123 as a surfactant at 150 ^° C. CMT with different copper concentrations (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3%) was synthesized. The structural characterization studies revealed that MT and CMT particles are in anatase phase. The average particle size was found to be nm for MT and that of CMT was , and nm, respectively. The presence of ordered spherical MT and CMT particles with uniform size distribution was confirmed by performing morphological studies using FE-SEM. Optical absorption studies indicate the presence of copper because of the red shift in the band gap and also a broad peak around 800nm when compared with MT. EIS studies point out an increase in conductivity from MT through 0.3% CMT by a decrease in the charge transfer resistance. Further, charge-discharge studies were carried on this material at room temperature for lithium-ion battery applications. CMT with 0.3% copper showed high initial discharge capacity and better cyclability. The results indicate that this material can act as a promising negative electrode.