Solvothermal synthesis method for dual-phase Li₄Ti₅O₁₂/TiO₂ composites for high-stability lithium storage

Abstract

As a promising anode material, lithium titanate (Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 ) displays extremely stable cycling and high safety performance. Nevertheless, its application is hindered because of a low electron conductivity and low specific capacity. Herein, dual-phase Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 /TiO 2 (LTO/TO) was synthesized by a straightforward solvothermalmethod utilizing crystallized water of lithium hydroxide to hydrolyse tetrabutyl titanate at high temperature and pressure conditions. This work demonstrated that LTO/ TO composites have excellent electrochemical performance and indicated that the inherent defects of LTO can be improved by the decoration of TO. At a current density of 1.0 A g −1 (∼6 C), the discharge capacity of LTO/TO sample reached 197 mAh g −1 after 100 cycles, while LTO exhibited 180 mAh g −1 . It appears that nanostructure LTO/TO composites may shorten the diffusion distance of electrons and lithium ions.

Fabrication of Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) as Anode Material for Li-Ion Batteries

“…Unlike the hydrothermal technique, non-aqueous solutions are used in the solvothermal synthesis, which allows for easy control of the morphology, particle size, and homogeneity of the products. Since a variety of organic solvents, e.g., ethanol, benzyl alcohol, polyol, etc., with high boiling points can be selected, the temperature can be elevated much higher than that in the hydrothermal method [ 59 , 60 , 382 , 383 , 384 , 385 , 386 , 387 ]. For example, LTO nanosheets [ 209 ], nanoflakes [ 384 ], sawtooth-like nanosheets [ 385 ], and nanoflowers [ 146 ] fabricated by solvothermal method exhibit good electrochemical performance.…”

“…Since a variety of organic solvents, e.g., ethanol, benzyl alcohol, polyol, etc., with high boiling points can be selected, the temperature can be elevated much higher than that in the hydrothermal method [ 59 , 60 , 382 , 383 , 384 , 385 , 386 , 387 ]. For example, LTO nanosheets [ 209 ], nanoflakes [ 384 ], sawtooth-like nanosheets [ 385 ], and nanoflowers [ 146 ] fabricated by solvothermal method exhibit good electrochemical performance. The solvothermal reaction can be performed by 0.1 mol tetrabutyl titanate dissolved in 100 mL ethanol and then followed by the addition of 0.1 or 0.08 mol LiOH.…”

“…Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 /TiO 2 (LTO/TO) nanoparticles were synthesized via a one-step solvothermal method followed by further heat treating using LiOH·H 2 O and TBT as raw materials [ 384 ]. Typically, 0.2 g LiOH·H 2 O was completely dissolved in 50 mL of ethanol after ultrasonication for 30 min as solution A.…”

Advantages and Application of Nano LTO battery

“…Dualphase lithium titanate nanowires are easily synthesised as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries by Jie et al To enhance the lithium storage capabilities, Tian et al [11] created Li4Ti5O12 anodes using an easy two-phase production technique and a nanostructure engineering method. By using crystallised water of lithium hydroxide to hydrolyze tetrabutyl titanate under high temperature and pressure conditions, Zhang et al [12] created dual-phase Li4Ti5O12/TiO2 (LTO/TO). According to Tran et al, we used LiOH and Ti(OBu)4 as precursors in a solution method to synthesis the nanoscale spinel Li4Ti5O12.…”

NUEVA RUTA DE SÍNTESIS ATRANO/HIDRO-SOLVOTERMAL PARA EL CONTROL DEL TAMAÑO DE NANOPARTÍCULA DE Li4 Ti5 O12 A TRAVÉS DEL USO DE TOHAC's

“…Por otra parte, en el método sol-gel hidrotermal y en el método solvotermal se puede obtener productos a escala nanométrica, los cuales, no permiten controlar el tamaño de la nanopartícula. Sin embargo, el método solvotermal presenta gran potencial y ha sido poco explorado hasta ahora [16][17][18]. Debido a que el uso de diferentes solventes permite un manejo más versátil de los productos sintetizados controlando independientemente la polaridad, el precursor, la solubilidad del producto, temperatura crítica y presión [4].…”