Growth of β-Li2TiO3 Nanocrystals from LiCl and LiOH Fluxes

Lithium–titanium oxide (β-Li2TiO3, LTO) crystals are a requisite precursor for hydrated titanium oxide [TiO(OH)2 or H2TiO3, HTO], which is a promising lithium-ion (Li+) sieve because of its high theoretical Li+-exchange capacity (LiEC) and unique crystal structure. Herein, we report the flux growth of LTO nanocrystals from LiCl and LiOH as a function of the holding temperature. The use of LiCl as a flux resulted in the growth of single-phase, monodispersed LTO nanocrystals at ≥600 °C. On the other hand, using a LiOH flux led to the growth of single-phase LTO crystals at ≥550 °C. The surface areas of the LTO samples grown from the LiCl and LiOH fluxes, LTOLiCl and LTOLiOH, respectively, reached their respective maxima of 17 and 29 m2 g–1, which are 2–4 times the value (7 m2 g–1) obtained for the LTO synthesized via a solid-state reaction at 700 °C. The resulting LTO samples were then immersed in an acid to prepare the HTO samples as adsorbents for Li+. Isotherms of Li+ adsorption on the HTO samples showed ...