Incorporating cyclized-Polyacrylonitrile with Li4Ti5O12 Nanosheet for High Performance Lithium Ion Battery Anode Material

Developing practically meaningful conductive- and binder- free electrode material for lithium ion battery has been of great interest in recently years. In this study, we describe a facile synthesis of cyclized-Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) nanosheet lithium ion battery anode material by one-pot hydrothermal approach followed by cyclization of the polymer at intermediate temperature. The obtained product was thoroughly characterized by powder XRD, Raman, TG-DSC, XPS, electron microscopy, EDS, BET and electrochemical methods The cyclized polymer does not alter crystal structure of LTO but goes through turbostratic transition to create sp2-π bonding and graphitic carbon at it course of conjugation. Electrochemical tests revealed the composite heightened electronic and ionic conductivity, rate capability, cycling performance, and significantly reduced charge transfer resistance than pure LTO, especially under the low temperatures. The boosted battery performance is on the ground that sp2-π bonding and graphitic carbon during the cyclization of PAN contribute significantly to charge transfer process. These results strongly suggest this method a cost-effective way producing high performance LTO material and may be applied to other lithium ion battery electrode material as well.