Synthesis of Li4Ti5O12 and its electrochemical properties

Abstract

Lithium-ion batteries are now well established in the market as the rechargeable power source. The spinel Li4Ti5O12 has many advantages over the graphite, although, which has been used as anode since lithium ion batteries was invented. Li4Ti5O12 shows negligible lattice change during the intercalation of Lithium ions. Therefore, the excellent cyclability can be expected for spinel Li4Ti5O12. Another important advantage of Li4Ti5O12 is safe for Li4Ti5O12 spinel to be used in power batteries of large applications such as Electric Vehicle (EV) and Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV). The low intrinsic electronic conductivity is a present shortcoming of Li4Ti5O12 material, which prevents its rate performances. Many synthesizing methods have been proposed to improve its electrochemical properties. Among of these methods, the solid state reaction is a commonly used method to prepare electrode materials for lithium ion batteries. It is simple and suitable for mass production. However, electrochemical performances of the Li4Ti5O12 prepared by solid state method are usually not satisfactory. This is due to the inhomogeneity, large size and irregular morphology of products synthesized by solid state method. The authors report the synthesized Li4Ti5O12 with small and well-distributed particle size (~ 0.5 µm). The influences of reaction conditions such as reaction temperatures and reaction time on the products were investigated in detail.