Despite exhibiting exceptional structural stability, spinel lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12, LTO) suffers from inherent limitations in both electronic conductivity and ionic diffusion kinetics, limiting its high-rate application. In this study, pringle-shaped Li4Ti5O12/carbon (LTO/C) composite was synthesized using low-cost sucrose as the organic carbon source, using a facile hydrothermal-calcination method. Each pringle-shaped nanosheet was composed of Li4Ti5O12 nanoparticles that are 15 nm in size, which can shorten lithium-ion diffusion distances as well as better the contact between electrolyte and active materials. Meanwhile, the uniform carbon cladding improves the material’s electronic conductivity. Owing to the synergistic effects between the mesoporous LTO nanosheets and carbon coating, LTO/C-6.31 wt% presented remarkable rate capability and cycling stability, delivering 145.5 mAh g−1 at 20 C over 1000 cycles with 93.93% capacity retention. This work demonstrates an effective synthesis route to developing high-rate capability and long-cycle-life anode materials for LIBs.
Huo et al. (Fri,) studied this question.