Poor cycling performance arising from the instability of anode is still a main
challenge for aqueous rechargeable lithium batteries (ARLB). In the present work, a
high performance LiTi2(PO4)3/C composite has been
achieved by a novel and facile preparation method associated with an in-situ
carbon coating approach. The LiTi2(PO4)3/C
nanoparticles show high purity and the carbon layer is very uniform. When used as an
anode material, the ARLB of
LiTi2(PO4)3/C//LiMn2O4
delivered superior cycling stability with a capacity retention of 90% after 300
cycles at 30 mA g−1 and 84% at
150 mA g−1 over 1300 cycles. It also
demonstrated excellent rate capability with reversible discharge capacities of 115
and 89 mAh g−1 (based on the mass of anode)
at 15 and 1500 mA g−1, respectively. The
superior electrochemical properties should be mainly ascribed to the high
performance of LiTi2(PO4)3/C anode, benefiting from
its nanostructure, high-quality carbon coating, appropriate crystal structure and
excellent electrode surface stability as verified by Raman spectra, electrochemical
impedance spectroscopy (EIS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) measurements.