TiC/NiO Core/Shell Nanoarchitecture with Battery-Capacitive Synchronous Lithium Storage for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Battery

The further development of electrode materials with high capacity and excellent rate capability presents a great challenge for advanced lithium-ion batteries. Herein, we demonstrate a battery-capacitive synchronous lithium storage mechanism based on a scrupulous design of TiC/NiO core/shell nanoarchitecture, in which the TiC nanowire core exhibits a typical double-layer capacitive behavior, and the NiO nanosheet shell acts as active materials for Li(+) storage. The as-constructed TiC/NiO (32 wt % NiO) core/shell nanoarchitecture offers high overall capacity and excellent cycling ability, retaining above 507.5 mAh g(-1) throughout 60 cycles at a current density of 200 mA g(-1) (much higher than theoretical value of the TiC/NiO composite). Most importantly, the high rate capability is far superior to that of NiO or other metal oxide electrode materials, owing to its double-layer capacitive characteristics of TiC nanowire and intrinsic high electrical conductivity for facile electron transport during Li(+) storage process. Our work offers a promising approach via a rational hybridization of two electrochemical energy storage materials for harvesting high capacity and good rate performance.