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Industry-University-Research Project Support: Preliminary exploratory study on electrode materials for sodium ion batteries","award":["21905244"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["21905244"]}]},{"name":"Jiangsu Ancan Technology Co., Ltd. Industry-University-Research Project Support: Preliminary exploratory study on electrode materials for sodium ion batteries","award":["22109031"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["22109031"]}]},{"name":"Jiangsu Ancan Technology Co., Ltd. Industry-University-Research Project Support: Preliminary exploratory study on electrode materials for sodium ion batteries","award":["2019M662784"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2019M662784"]}]},{"name":"Jiangsu Ancan Technology Co., Ltd. Industry-University-Research Project Support: Preliminary exploratory study on electrode materials for sodium ion batteries","award":["xjr2019011"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["xjr2019011"]}]},{"name":"Jiangsu Ancan Technology Co., Ltd. Industry-University-Research Project Support: Preliminary exploratory study on electrode materials for sodium ion batteries","award":["2023031510"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023031510"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nanomaterials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Layered sodium trititanate (Na2Ti3O7) is a promising anode material for sodium-ion batteries due to its suitable charge\/discharge plateaus, cost-effectiveness, and eco-friendliness. However, its slow Na+ diffusion kinetics, poor electron conductivity, and instability during cycling pose significant challenges for practical applications. To address these issues, we developed a template-free method to synthesize Na2Ti3O7-C hollow microspheres. The synthesis began with polymerization-induced colloid aggregation to form a TiO2\u2013urea\u2013formaldehyde (TiO2-UF) precursor, which was then subjected to heat treatment to induce inward crystallization, creating hollow cavities within the microspheres. The hollow structure, combined with a conductive carbon matrix, significantly enhanced the cycling performance and rate capability of the material. When used as an anode, the Na2Ti3O7-C hollow microspheres exhibited a high reversible capacity of 188 mAh g\u22121 at 0.2C and retained 169 mAh g\u22121 after 500 cycles. Additionally, the material demonstrated excellent rate performance with capacities of 157, 133, 105, 77, 62, and 45 mAh g\u22121 at current densities of 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20C, respectively. This innovative approach provides a new strategy for developing high-performance sodium-ion battery anodes and has the potential to significantly advance the field of energy storage.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nano15060423","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,10]],"date-time":"2025-03-10T08:46:41Z","timestamp":1741596401000},"page":"423","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Unlocking the Potential of Na2Ti3O7-C Hollow Microspheres in Sodium-Ion Batteries via Template-Free Synthesis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2123-7408","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yong-Gang","family":"Sun","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yu","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-1545-0699","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Li","family":"Dong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ting-Ting","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiang-Yu","family":"Qian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fa-Jia","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jia-Qi","family":"Shen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhi-Yang","family":"Shan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Li-Ping","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051, China"},{"name":"School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8431-9021","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xi-Jie","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin 541004, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"267","DOI":"10.1038\/s41560-018-0107-2","article-title":"Performance and cost of materials for lithium-based rechargeable automotive batteries","volume":"3","author":"Schmuch","year":"2018","journal-title":"Nat. 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