Efficient Lithium-Ion Storage by Hierarchical Core-Shell TiO Nanowires Decorated with MoO Quantum Dots Encapsulated in Carbon Nanosheets.

Rational design and surface engineering are the key to synthesizing high-performance electrode materials for electrocatalysis and energy conversion and storage applications. Herein, a novel three-dimensional (3D) nanoarchitecture of TiO nanowires decorated with MoO quantum dots encapsulated in carbon nanosheets was successfully synthesized by a simple polymerization method. Such a hierarchical nanostructure can not only exhibit the synergistic effect of structural stability of a 1D TiO substrate and high capacity of 0D MoO quantum dots but also prevent the aggregation and oxidation of MoO. As a result, the novel 0D-1D-2D composite illustrates an initial discharge capacity of 470 mAh g at a high current density of 500 mA g, especially a capacity retention of about 83% after 450 cycles. The present work highlights the designing strategy of nanoarchitectures containing high capacity materials for enhancing electrochemical performance of Ti-based materials.