Hydrothermal synthesis of Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ nanosheets as anode materials for lithium ion batteries

Spinel Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ (LTO) has the advantages of superior cycling performance, long and stable voltage plateau, enhanced safety, low cost, and environmental friendliness. LTO nanosheets were synthesized by a hydrothermal method using Ti(OC₄H₉)₄ and LiOH as the raw materials, followed by a subsequent heat treatment to get the desired phase. The effects of the reactant concentration and heat treatment temperature on the phase structure were studied to optimize process parameters for preparing the LTO nanosheets. The results demonstrate that the LTO nanosheets obtained by a hydrothermal method with 2 M LiOH and a subsequent heat treatment at 550 °C exhibit an outstanding stable capacity of 175 mA h g⁻¹ at 0.1 C to 20 C for 40 cycles. The ameliorated electrode-performance is ascribed to the nanostructure of the materials, which provides shorter diffusion-paths and a faster migration rate for both ions and electrons. The newly synthesized nanostructured LTO materials can offer good high rate performance and stability. Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ nanosheets were developed in this paper for use as anode materials for lithium-ion power batteries with high-rate applications.