Synthesis, conversion, and comparison of the photocatalytic and electrochemical properties of Na2Ti6O13 and Li2Ti6O13 nanobelts

Abstract Single-crystalline Li 2 Ti 6 O 13 nanobelts have been prepared from Na 2 Ti 6 O 13 nanobelts as the precursor templates via sodium/lithium ion-exchange in molten LiNO 3 at 400 °C for 10 h for the first time. Both Na 2 Ti 6 O 13 and Li 2 Ti 6 O 13 nanobelts are also characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Our experiments show that Na 2 Ti 6 O 13 and Li 2 Ti 6 O 13 nanobelts exhibit higher photocatalytic efficiency than their bulk counterparts for the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under ultraviolet light (UV) irradiation. In comparison to Na 2 Ti 6 O 13 nanobelts, Li 2 Ti 6 O 13 nanobelts exhibit lower photocatalytic efficiency, which may result from the expansion of tunnel space in Li 2 Ti 6 O 13 . However, the electrochemical Li insertion–extraction experiments reveal that the stable reversible discharge capacity of Li 2 Ti 6 O 13 nanobelts is higher than that of Na 2 Ti 6 O 13 nanobelts. Moreover, our results also indicate that the reversible discharge capacities of Na 2 Ti 6 O 13 and Li 2 Ti 6 O 13 nanobelts are slightly less than that of their bulk counterparts.