Plasma treated TiO2/C nanofibers as high performance anode materials for sodium-ion batteries

TiO2 has been a promising anode material for sodium-ion batteries because it is low-cost and environment-friendly. However, its electrochemical performance at high rates is still not acceptable. Herein, we synthesized a TiO2/C nanofiber material by the electrospinning method, and introduced air plasma treatments to modify the obtained material. Characterization results indicate that after the plasma treatments, the C fibers may have reacted with the plasma, and the surface areas of the nanofibers are increased. Electrochemical tests show this plasma treatment may be beneficial to the rate performance. The TiO2/C nanofiber with plasma treatment could deliver a high redox capacity of 191 mA h g-1 after 500 cycles at a very high rate of 10C (3300 mA g-1). The superior effects of the plasma treatment on the rate performance may provide new insights for developing better materials for practical sodium-ion batteries.