Nitrogen-doped carbon coated TiO2 nanocomposites as anode material to improve cycle life for lithium-ion batteries

Anatase TiO 2 has attracted much attention as a safe anode material for lithium-ion battery applications, due to its low electronic conductivity and severe aggregation during Li + insertion/extraction processes, the practical application of the anatase TiO 2 is still hindered by poor long-term cycling stability. In order to improve the cycling performance of lithium-ion batteries, a uniform thin nitrogen-doped carbon layer with a thickness of 3–6   nm is successfully coated on the surface of the anatase TiO 2 nanoparticles by using polydopamine as carbon precursor. Compared with the pristine TiO 2 electrode, the carbon coated TiO 2 nanocomposites electrodes show very good capacity retention and cycling performance.