Well-defined Li4Ti5O12-TiO2 nanosheet and nanotube composites have been synthesized by a solvothermal process. The combination of in situ generated rutile-TiO2 in Li4Ti5O12 nanosheets or nanotubes is favorable for reducing the electrode polarization, and Li4Ti5O12-TiO2 nanocomposites show faster lithium insertion/extraction kinetics than that of pristine Li4Ti5O12 during cycling. Li4Ti5O12-TiO2 electrodes also display lower charge-transfer resistance and higher lithium diffusion coefficients than pristine Li4Ti5O12. Therefore, Li4Ti5O12-TiO2 electrodes display lower charge-transfer resistance and higher lithium diffusion coefficients. This reveals that the in situ TiO2 modification improves the electronic conductivity and electrochemical activity of the electrode in the local environment, resulting in its relatively higher capacity at high charge-discharge rate. Li4Ti5O12-TiO2 nanocomposite with a Li/Ti ratio of 3.8:5 exhibits the lowest charge-transfer resistance and the highest lithium diffusion coefficient among all samples, and it shows a much improved rate capability and specific capacity in comparison with pristine Li4Ti5O12 when charging and discharging at a 10 C rate. The improved high-rate capability, cycling stability, and fast charge-discharge performance of Li4Ti5O12-TiO2 nanocomposites can be ascribed to the improvement of electrochemical reversibility, lithium ion diffusion, and conductivity by in situ TiO2 modification.
A facile
solid-state method to improve the rate performance of
Li4Ti5O12 in lithium-ion batteries
by LiAlO2 in situ modification is presented in this work.
XRD shows that the LiAlO2 modification does not change
the spinel structure of Li4Ti5O12 but forms Al-doped Li4Ti5O12–LiAlO2 composites, and little Al doping decreases the lattice parameter
of doped Li4Ti5O12. SEM shows that
all samples are composed of 1–2 μm primary particles
with irregular shapes. Raman spectra reveal that the intensity of
these lines for Li4Ti5O12–LiAlO2 composites obviously decreases caused by a modification of
the LiAlO2 phase. CV and EIS tests indicate that the doping
of Al3+ and the combination with in situ generated LiAlO2 on the surface of Li4Ti5O12 are favorable for reducing the electrode polarization and charge-transfer
resistance, and then improve the reversibility and lithium ion diffusion
coefficient of Li4Ti5O12, resulting
in its relatively higher rate capacity. Charge–discharge tests
reveals that Li4Ti5O12–LiAlO2 composite (5 wt %) exhibits the highest rate capacity and
cycling stability at various rates, which is capable of large-scale
applications, such as electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles,
requiring high energy, long life and excellent safety.
Novel submicron Li5Cr7Ti6O25, which exhibits excellent rate capability, high cycling stability and fast charge-discharge performance is constructed using a facile sol-gel method. The insights obtained from this study will benefit the design of new negative electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries.
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