A novel Li4Ti5O12/graphene/carbon nano-tubes hybrid material for high rate lithium ion batteries

• A novel Li4Ti5O12/G/CNTs hybrid material was synthesized by a rheological phase approach.
• The Li4Ti5O12/G/CNTs hybrid material exhibits high charge/transfer kinetics.
• The Li4Ti5O12/G/CNTs hybrid material has excellent rate capability and cycling performance.

The Li4Ti5O12/G/CNTs hybrid material was synthesized via a facile rheological phase reaction route. For comparison, the Li4Ti5O12/G hybrid material was also prepared using the similar rheological phase method. The results showed that the Li4Ti5O12/G/CNTs had better rate capability and cycling performance than that of the Li4Ti5O12/G. At 0.2 C, the initial discharge capacity of the Li4Ti5O12/G/CNTs was 172 mA h/g, and even at the high rate of 5.0 C and 10.0 C, it could still remain at 150 mA h/g and 144 mA h/g, respectively. Moreover, only less than 6% discharge capacity loss over 100 cycles at 10.0 C was observed. The outstanding electrochemical performances make it a promising anode material for high rate lithium ion batteries.

The AC impedance spectra shows that the Li4Ti5O12/G/CNTs hybrid material has higher charge/transfer kinetics than that of the Li4Ti5O12/G hybrid material. This should be ascribed to that the CNTs in the hybrid material can act like bridges, which connect the isolated particles of Li4Ti5O12 and the graphene, resulting in forming more effective conductive nets in the electrode.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide