SiC_x/TiC_x Nanostructured Material from Ti₃SiC₂ for High Rate Performance of Lithium Storage

A new SiC_x/TiC_x electrode material has been synthesized by ball-milling of Ti₃SiC₂ MAX phase. To demonstrate the possible applications for lithium-ion batteries, the electrochemical properties of the SiC_x/TiC_x nanocomposite was studied. The results indicate that this new material has a higher specific capacity (170 mAh/g) than those of pure SiC (93 mAh/g), TiC (75 mAh/g), and the mixture of SiC-TiC (122 mAh/g) at current density of 100 mA/g for 300 cycles. Furthermore, the SiC_x/TiC_x nanocomposite has a specific capacity of 110 mAh/g, better than those of artificial graphite (labeled: SAG−R, 26 mAh/g) and mesocarbon microbeads (labeled: MCMB, 21 mAh/g), at current density of 1 A/g for 1000 cycles. The enhancement mechanism of the SiC_x/TiC_x nanostructure has been discussed by the DFT calculation. Further development of this anode material may enable practical applications for long cycling and fast charge-discharge anode in rechargeable batteries.