Effect of calcination temperature on morphology and electrochemical performance of PbLi2Ti6O14

As a promising anode material, PbLi2Ti6O14 has attracted the attention of many researchers. In this work, a series of PbLi2Ti6O14 are prepared by solid state method at five different calcination temperatures and used as anode materials in lithium ion batteries. Through a series of tests, the results show that the phase purity, morphology and electrochemical performance of PbLi2Ti6O14 can be seriously influenced by calcination temperature. When the calcination temperature is 900 °C, the phase-pure PbLi2Ti6O14 can be obtained with relatively small particle size, excellent cycle performance and outstanding lithium ion diffusion behavior. It provides an initial charge capacity of 151.3 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1. After 100 cycles, it shows a reversible capacity of 142.0 mA h g−1 with superior capacity retention of 93.85%. In contrast, PbLi2Ti6O14 formed at 800 °C displays an unsatisfactory performance due to the presence of impurity, even though it has the smallest particle size and the largest lithium ion diffusion coefficient among the five samples. The reversible capacity is only 82.6 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles with capacity retention of 53.9%. In order to further study the lithium ion diffusion behavior of PbLi2Ti6O14, the in-situ X-ray diffraction technique is also implemented. It is found that during the lithiation/delithiation process, the stable framework can effectively inhibit the volume change and ensures the excellent electrochemical performance of PbLi2Ti6O14.