Porous spheres of TiO2 (B)/anatase entwined by graphene nanoribbons for high Li+ rate performance

A porous spherical hybrid of TiO2 (B)/anatase entwined by graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) was synthesized by a facile and scalable method. The entwining of GNRs can adhere on the surface of TiO2 by electrostatic interactions and prevent TiO2 nanoribbons from self-scrolling to nanotubes, facilitating large lithium storage and high rate capability. The TiO2/GNRs nanocomposite exhibited high rate capability in galvanostatic charge-discharge experiments, providing a capacity of 131 mAh g−1 with a coulombic efficiency of 99.2% at a charge rate of 10C (1 C = 335 mA g−1) over 1400 cycles. The appealing electrochemical performance can be attributed to the synergistic effect of TiO2 nanoribbons entwined by GNRs.