Soft Template strategy to synthesize iron oxide-titania yolk-shell nanoparticles as high-performance anode materials for lithium-ion battery applications

Yolk-shell-structured nanoparticles with iron oxide core, void, and a titania shell configuration are prepared by a simple soft template method and used as the anode material for lithium ion batteries. The iron oxide-titania yolk-shell nanoparticles (IO@void@TNPs) exhibit a higher and more stable capacity than simply mixed nanoparticles of iron oxide and hollow titania because of the unique structure obtained by the perfect separation between iron oxide nanoparticles, in combination with the adequate internal void space provided by stable titania shells. Moreover, the structural effect of IO@void@TNPs clearly demonstrates that the capacity retention value after 50 cycles is approximately 4 times that for IONPs under harsh operating conditions, that is, when the temperature is increased to 80°C.