Optimizing performance of Li4Ti5O12 nanorod doped C@ZnO by hydrothermal synthesis as half-cell lithium-ion battery anode

Lithium titanate, Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) is a promising candidate as lithium ion battery anode material. In this investigation, LTO/C@ZnO was synthesized with LTO nanorod by hydrothermal method using TiO2 xerogel that prepared by the sol-gel method, lithium hydroxide (LiOH), Activated carbon, and Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanorod. Three variations of ZnO content addition in weight %, i.e., 4, 7 and 10%, labelled as sample LTO/C@ZnO-4, LTO/C@ZnO-7 and LTO/C@ZnO-10, respectively. The characterizations were made using XRD, FE-SEM, and BET testing. These were performed to observe the effect of ZnO addition on structure, morphology, and surface area of the resulting samples. Result showed that the optimum discharge capacity from each samples was 32.84 mAh/g in LTO/C@ZnO-4 with the crystallite size of 11.86 nm and the surface area of 348.736 m2/g. In cyclic voltammetry testing, it shows a shift in reaction voltage and reduction in capacity that caused by the addition of C@ZnO and the lack of Li4Ti5O12 that are formed.