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Porous spheres consisting of Li4Ti5O12 nanocrystals prepared through spray drying and their application as anodes for lithium-ion batteries

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Abstract

In this study, a facile method is developed for preparing porous microspheres of lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12 [LTO]) nanocrystals for use as anode materials of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Spray drying combined with solid-state calcination have been applied for the preparation. A sol of TiO2 nanoparticles of several nanometers has been obtained through the quaternary-ammonium-hydroxide-assisted sol–gel process. TiO2 sol is used as a precursor for LTO to ensure a stable mixture of a TiO2 sol with the LiOH aqueous solution, which is crucial for spray drying. Microspheres of 0.5 and 3 μm consisting of LTO nanocrystals of approximately 200 nm are obtained by calcining the spray drying samples. The phase, composition, microstructure, porosity, and electrochemical properties of the obtained samples are investigated. When used as an anode material for LIBs, LTO microspheres exhibit a reversible capacity of 174.7 mAhg−1 at 0.1 C and an excellent cycling stability with capacity retention of 98.6% after 100 cycles at 1 C rate. Furthermore, a remarkable rate capacity of 57.8% is retained at 20 C (vs 0.1 C).

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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This work is supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2021YFB2400200) and the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2020ME057 and ZR202102190181).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Materials for Energy and Environment, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Zepeng Pu, Zongyu Wang, Liyan Dang, Haowei Li, Xuehua Liu, Chao Wang & Hongliang Li

  2. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Aiping Fu

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  1. Zepeng Pu
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  2. Zongyu Wang
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  3. Liyan Dang
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  4. Haowei Li
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  7. Chao Wang
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Contributions

Zepeng Pu, Chao Wang, and Hongliang Li contributed to the research conception and experiment design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Zepeng Pu, Zongyu Wang, Liyan Dang, Haowei Li, and Xuehua Liu. The draft of the manuscript was written by Zepeng Pu. Aiping Fu, Chao Wang, and Hongliang Li modified the draft of the manuscript. All the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Chao Wang or Hongliang Li.

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Pu, Z., Wang, Z., Dang, L. et al. Porous spheres consisting of Li4Ti5O12 nanocrystals prepared through spray drying and their application as anodes for lithium-ion batteries. J Solid State Electrochem 27, 37–46 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-022-05302-y

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