A facile strategy to prepare nano-crystalline Li4Ti5O12/C anode material via polyvinyl alcohol as carbon source for high-rate rechargeable Li-ion batteries

► LTO/C nano-composites with 20-50 nm in size. ► LTO/C prepared using a sol-gel method via a simple carbon coating process. ► LTO/C exhibit a high-rate performance of 141 mA h g−1 and 83 mA h g−1 at 10 C and 80 C.