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Updated: Aug 18, 2025
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Published on: November 11, 2013
Fast Li-ion Storage and Dynamics in TiO2 Nanoparticle Clusters Probed by Smart Scanning Electrochemical Cell
Emmanuel Batsa Tetteh1,2, Dimitrios Valavanis1, Enrico Daviddi1
1Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV47AL, UK.
Abstract:
Anatase TiO2 is a promising material for Li-ion (Li+ ) batteries with fast charging capability. However, Li+ (de)intercalation dynamics in TiO2 remain elusive and reported diffusivities span many orders of magnitude. Here, we develop a smart protocol for scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) with in situ optical microscopy (OM) to enable the high-throughput charge/discharge analysis of single TiO2 nanoparticle clusters. Directly probing active nanoparticles revealed that TiO2 with a size of ≈50 nm can store over 30 % of the theoretical capacity at an extremely fast charge/discharge rate of ≈100 C. This finding of fast Li+ storage in TiO2 particles strengthens its potential for fast-charging batteries. More generally, smart SECCM-OM should find wide applications for high-throughput electrochemical screening of nanostructured materials.
