Electrical and electrochemical properties of molten salt-synthesized Li4Ti5−xSnxO12 (x=0.0, 0.05 and 0.1) as anodes for Li-ion batteries

Submicron-sized polyhedral Li4Ti5−xSnxO12 (x=0.0, 0.05, and 0.1) materials were successfully prepared by a single-step molten salt method. The structural, morphological, transport and electrochemical properties of the Li4Ti5−xSnxO12 were studied. X-ray diffraction patterns showed the formation of a cubic structure with a lattice constant of 8.31 Å, and the addition of dopants follows Vegard's law. Furthermore, FT-IR spectra revealed symmetric stretching vibrations of octahedral groups of MO6 lattice in Li4Ti5O12. The formation of polyhedral submicron Li4Ti5−xSnxO12 particles was inferred from FE-SEM images, and a particle size reduction was observed for Sn-doped Li4Ti5O12. The chemical composition of Ti, O and Sn was verified by EDAX. The DC electrical conductivity was found to increase with increasing temperature, and a maximum conductivity of 8.96×10−6 S cm−1 was observed at 200 °C for Li4Ti5O12. The galvanostatic charge-discharge behavior indicates that the Sn-doped Li4Ti5O12 could be used as an anode for Li-ion batteries due to its enhanced electrochemical properties.