Preparation of Li^sub 4^Ti^sub 5^O^sub 12^ by solution ion-exchange of sodium titanate nanotube and evaluation of electrochemical performance

• Published in: Journal of nanoparticle research : an interdisciplinary forum for nanoscale science and technology 2013-10, Vol.15 (10), p.1
• Main Authors: Zhang, Jingwei, Zhang, Fenli, Li, Jiuhe, Cai, Wei, Zhang, Jiwei, Yu, Laigui, Jin, Zhensheng, Zhang, Zhijun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Electrochemistry; Ion exchange; Ion transport; Lithium; Low temperature; Nanoparticles; Sodium; Titanium dioxide
• ISSN: 1388-0764; 1572-896X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11051-013-2005-7

Nano-sized spinel lithium titanate (Li^sub 4^Ti^sub 5^O^sub 12^) was synthesized using sodium titanate nanotube as precursor via a facile solution ion-exchange method in association with subsequent calcination treatment at relatively low temperature. The influences of precursors, ion-exchange condition, and calcination temperature on the microstructure and electrochemical performance of the products were studied. Results indicate that pure-phase Li^sub 4^Ti^sub 5^O^sub 12^ can be harvested from sodium titanate nanotube precursor through an ion-exchanging at room temperature and calcination at 500 °C. The products exhibit a better performance as Li-ion battery anode material than the counterparts prepared from protonic titanate nanotube (H-titanate) precursor. The reason may lie in that sodium titanate nanotube is easier than protonic titanate nanotube to synthesize lithium titanate without TiO2 impurity, resulting in reduced electron transfer ability and Li-ion transport ability. The capacity of Li^sub 4^Ti^sub 5^O^sub 12^ prepared from sodium titanate nanotube is 146 mAh/g at 10 C, and it has only 0.7 % decay after 200 charge/discharge cycles.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]