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Solid-state synthesis of graphite carbon-coated Li4Ti5O12 anode for lithium ion batteries

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Abstract

Graphites are widely used for their high electrical conductivity and good thermal and chemical stability. In this work, graphitic carbon-coated lithium titanium (Li4Ti5O12/GC) was successfully synthesized by a simple one-step solid-state reaction process with the assistance of sucrose without elevating sintering temperature. The lattice fringe of 0.208 nm clearly seen from the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images was assigned to graphite (010). The average grain size of the as-prepared Li4Ti5O12/GC was about 100–200 nm, 1 order smaller than that of pure Li4Ti5O12 prepared similarly. The rate performance and cycle ability were significantly improved by the hybrid conducting network formed by graphitic carbon on the grains and amorphous carbon between them. The specific capacity retention rate was 66.7 % when discharged at a rate of 12C compared with the capacity obtained at 0.5C. After 300 cycles, the capacity retention was more than 90 % at a high rate of 15C.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by NSFC (grant nos. 21073029, 11234013, and 51211140045), RFDP (no. 20100185110019), Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (no. NCET-10-0296), and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (no. ZYGX2012Z003, 103.1.2 E022050205). The authors thank Miss Ming Liu, working at the Analytical and Testing Center of Sichuan University, China, for her help in TEM characterization.

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, School of Microelectronics and Solid-state Electronics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, No. 4, Section 2, North Jianshe Road, Chengdu, 610054, Sichuan, China

    Ying Wang, Wei Zou, Xinyi Dai, Lidong Feng, Haiquan Zhang, Aijun Zhou & Jingze Li

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  1. Ying Wang
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Correspondence to Jingze Li.

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Wang, Y., Zou, W., Dai, X. et al. Solid-state synthesis of graphite carbon-coated Li4Ti5O12 anode for lithium ion batteries. Ionics 20, 1377–1383 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-014-1103-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-014-1103-6

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