Appraisal of carbon-coated Li4Ti5O12 acanthospheres from optimized two-step hydrothermal synthesis as a superior anode for sodium-ion batteries

Carbon-coated nanostructured Li4Ti5O12 acanthospheres with a highly porous and open structure are investigated as the anode for SIBs. By optimizing the amount of the glucose organic carbon precursor, attractive capacities of 186 mAh g−1, 141 mAh g−1 and 68 mAh g−1 at 0.2 Cat 2.0 C, 10 C are achieved. An outstanding cycling stability is demonstrated, with capacity retention of 93% after continuous cycling for 400 cycles at 1.0 C.238