Zahid Ali

We report on the excellent electrochemical response of lithium ion batteries that use a composite material comprised of mesoporous titanium dioxide (MTO) spheres and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for the anode. The composite structure was synthesized via a combined sol–gel and solvothermal method, and the batteries exhibited unprecedented discharge capacity, cycling stability, and reversibility when compared to those based on commercially available TiO₂ nanopowders and mesoporous TiO₂ spheres. The inclusion of the composite structure resulted in an improvement in electronic and ionic conductivity, a larger surface area, and a colossal number of open channels in the synthesized structure that allowed for lithium ion intercalation. We achieved a Coulombic efficiency of nearly 100% and a discharge capacity as high as 316 mA h g^–1 at a rate of C/5, which is 1.9 times higher than that which is practically attainable with TiO₂. Moreover, we observed a capacity loss of only 3.1% after 100 cycles, which indicates that the synthesized structure has a highly stable nature.