Simplified Design and Synthesis of One-Dimensional Titanate Nanotubes as Advanced Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

One-dimensional (1D) titanate nanotubes have garnered significant attention in the field of lithium-ion batteries due to their high specific surface area, excellent electrical conductivity, and efficient ion transport properties. However, despite the simplicity of the hydrothermal synthesis method, the underlying mechanisms by which key parameters (e.g., NaOH concentration, temperature, and time) influence the morphology and performance of the materials remain unclear, thereby limiting their industrial application. In this study, we employed an orthogonal design approach to systematically optimize the hydrothermal process parameters. Initially, we investigated the effects of NaOH concentration on the phase and morphology of the products, followed by a three-factor, three-level orthogonal experiment. The optimal conditions were determined to be an NaOH concentration of 10 mol L ^-1 , a hydrothermal time of 36 h, a hydrothermal temperature of 150 °C, and a solid-to-liquid ratio of 0.0375. Under these optimal conditions, the synthesized 1D titanate nanotubes exhibited an average length of 387 nm, a specific surface area of 63.114 m² g ^-1 , and an average pore size of 5.54 nm. The material demonstrated remarkable rate performance (274 mAh g ^-1 at 0.5C) and cycling retention (83% after more than 100 cycles). By optimizing the hydrothermal process through orthogonal design, this study successfully fabricated high-performance 1D titanate nanotubes, providing a reliable technological pathway for their application in the field of energy storage.