Microstructure Characterization and Battery Performance Comparison of MOF-235 and TiO2-P25 Materials

The growing interest in energy storage has led to the urgent need for the development of high-performance cathode electrodes. The commercialized materials MOF-235 and TiO2-P25 exhibit characteristics that may be suitable as electrodes but there are inherent challenges that have yet to be addressed in the literature. In this study, a high-pressure hydrothermal synthesized MOF-235 and sol-gel-made TiO2-P25 were tested for battery performance. The results indicate that MOF-235 does not possess the desired performance due to uncontrollable agglomeration. On the other hand, TiO2-P25 showed good cycling life, and the performance can be further optimized by doping and minimizing the particle size. Additionally, SEM and TEM were applied for surface characterization, providing evidence that mesoporous TiO2-25 inhibits photo-generated carrier recombination. The mesoporous energy storage mechanism of those two materials is also discussed. This research will provide technical support for the industrialization of those two mesoporous materials.