Novel Ag/Li4Ti5O12 binary composite anode electrodes for high capacity Li-ion batteries

• Spinel lithium titanates Li4Ti5O12 were produced via facile sol–gel method.
• The surfaces of the as produced spinel powders were coated with Ag via electroless coating.
• The effect of Ag coating on the electrochemical properties is evaluated.

In this study, spinel lithium titanates, Li4Ti5O12, have been synthesized by a simple sol–gel method. Surfaces of as-synthesized Li4Ti5O12 powders were then coated with silver. Electrochemical results exhibit that Ag/Li4Ti5O12 has a highest lithium storage capacity of 175 mAh g− 1 and Li4Ti5O12 displays the lowest initial charge capacity of 170 mAh g−1 . The synthesized Ag/Li4Ti5O12 composite electrode also showed the significantly improved high-rate capability and stability, which delivered initial discharge capacity of 170, 147, 118, 99, 88, 77, 66, 56, 46 and 34 mAh g−1  at the charge/discharge current density of 1, 2, 4, 8, 10, 20, 30, 40, 60 and 80 C, respectively. The sol–gel and electroless deposition processes may present a facile pathway for large-scale preparation of Ag/Li4Ti5O12 as high-performance anode materials for lithium-ion batteries.