Scalable in Situ Synthesis of Li₄Ti₅O₁₂/Carbon Nanohybrid with Supersmall Li₄Ti₅O₁₂Nanoparticles Homogeneously Embedded in Carbon Matrix

Abstract

LiTiO (LTO) is regarded as a promising lithium-ion battery anode due to its stable cyclic performance and reliable operation safety. The moderate rate performance originated from the poor intrinsic electron and lithium-ion conductivities of the LTO has significantly limited its wide applications. A facile scalable synthesis of hierarchical LiTiO/C nanohybrids with supersmall LTO nanoparticles (ca. 17 nm in diameter) homogeneously embedded in the continuous submicrometer-sized carbon matrix is developed. Difunctional methacrylate monomers are used as solvent and carbon source to generate TiO/C nanohybrid, which is in situ converted to LTO/C via a solid-state reaction procedure. The structure, morphology, crystallinity, composition, tap density, and electrochemical performance of the LTO/C nanohybrid are systematically investigated. Comparing to the control sample of the commercial LTO composited with carbon, the reversible specific capacity after 1000 cycles at 175 mA g and rate performance at high current densities (875, 1750, and 3500 mA g) of the LiTiO/C nanohybrid have been significantly improved. The enhanced electrochemical performance is due to the unique structure feature, where the supersmall LTO nanoparticles are homogeneously embedded in the continuous carbon matrix. Good tap density is also achieved with the LTO/C nanohybrid due to its hierarchical micro-/nanohybrid structure, which is even higher than that of the commercial LTO powder.

Enhancing Ultrafast Lithium Ion Storage of Li4Ti5O12 by Tailored TiC/C Core/Shell Skeleton Plus Nitrogen Doping

“…Spinel lithium titanate (Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 , LTO) is considered as a promising anode for fast energy storage due to its zero‐strain characteristics during phase transformation process . Though low volume expansion ratio (<0.2%) could ensure the structure stability during long‐term cycles, the transfer characteristics of ions/electrons in bulk LTO is still low leading to undermined high‐rate performance .…”

Wet‐chemistry synthesis of Li4Ti5O12as anode materials rendering high‐rate Li‐ion storage

“…Recently, several research groups have attempted to improve the electronic conductivity of LTO by controlling its particle size through various novel synthesis methods as well as by doping or surface modification techniques . They achieved remarkable results for enhancing the electrochemical properties of LTO.…”

“…Recently, several research groups have attempted to improve the electronic conductivity of LTO by controlling its particle size through various novel synthesis methods [35][36][37][38] as well as by doping or surface modification techniques. 34,[39][40][41][42] They achieved remarkable results for enhancing the electrochemical properties of LTO. For example, Feng et al hydrothermally synthesized ultrathin LTO nanosheet with an initial discharge capacity of 193 mAh g −1 at the current rate of 0.2 C (~175 mA g −1 ).…”

In Situ Incorporation of Super‐Small Metallic High Capacity Nanoparticles and Mesoporous Structures for High‐Performance TiO2/SnO2/Sn/Carbon Nanohybrid Lithium‐Ion Battery Anodes

“…Following the aforementioned principles, TiO 2 /SnO 2 /Sn/C nanohybrids with super‐small sized TiO 2 , SnO 2 , and Sn nanoparticles homogeneously embedded in mesoporous carbon matrix are synthesized in a facile scalable way . As shown in Scheme , difunctional methacrylate monomers of bisphenol A‐glycidyl dimethacrylate (bis‐GMA) and triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) are used as solvent and carbon source.…”