Spinel lithium titanium oxide (LTO; Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 ) is one of attractive negative electrode materials for high-performance lithium-ion batteries. We studied the changes of LTO-electrode surfaces in contact with liquid electrolytes without electrochemical operation, as the basic state of a stored cell. The electrochemical properties of the LTO-crystal electrode were greatly deteriorated after soaking in a liquid electrolyte (1 M LiPF 6 in PC) for 2 weeks at room temperature. Spinel LTO structure was changed into rock-salt like structure at the surface region. Spinel lithium titanate (LTO; Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 ) is one of the attractive negative electrode materials for high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), due to its superior cycle stability with high-rate chargedischarge performance.1 These excellent properties of LTO are concerned with the negligible lattice-parameter change and the simple phase conversion mechanism between the spinel LTO phase and the Li-inserted LTO phase (Li 7 Ti 5 O 12 ) with ordered rock-salt structure.
2,3The chemical stability or electrochemical durability of LTO-based electrodes is crucial to design high-performance LIBs for power sources of electrical vehicles or for large-scale energy storage, which requires high safety, long-life performance, and robustness. For this purpose, we have to understand not only the bulk-electrode phenomena, but also the phenomena at solid-electrode/liquid-electrolyte interfaces, such as solvation-desolvation, Li-ion absorption-desorption, and transfer as well as so-called solid electrolyte interface (SEI) formation. For LTO/liquid-electrolyte interfaces, several studies were performed under some electrochemical conditions. The reactions at LTO surfaces in contact with liquid electrolytes were also investigated in our previously study. 4 We revealed irreversible surface morphology changes during the 1st charge-discharge cycle. After the 1 st cycle, we observed the generation of the surface layer of a Li-rich phase (Li 2 TiO 3 ) with cubic rock-salt structure. 4 This surface layer on a LTO crystal would be some kind of SEI and contribute to the stability or efficiency of charge-discharge cycles. While the electrochemical reactions or associated structural changes at electrode surfaces have been studied under the electrochemical operation, the reactions or associated changes in the static condition are also important to fully understand the performance of electrodes. Especially, the basic interactions between electrode surfaces and liquid electrolytes before or after the charge-discharge operation should greatly affect a lot of battery phenomena, such as self-discharging, 5 alternation of electrode materials and electrolyte, 6-9 decomposition of electrolyte molecules and gas-generation, 5,10-12 which often lead to the deterioration of electrochemical performance and safety of battery cells. 13,14 As for the LTO-electrode/liquid-electrolyte interfaces in the static condition, the decomposition reaction of solvate molecules and the structural changes at ele...