In situ nano-sized spinel Li4Ti5O12 powder fabricated by a one-step roasting process in molten salts

In this work, for the first time, a one-step roasting process to fabricate nano-sized spinel Li4Ti5O12 powder (LTO-Ti) of which electronic conductivity was enhanced by doping unreacted titanium powder in the molten salts environment growing in situ directly from Ti powder is described. The crystal structure and morphology of LTO-Ti were examined with X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). When used as anodes for LIBs, the as synthesized nano-sized spinel Li4Ti5O12 powder (LTO-Ti) manifest an excellent rate capability and a significantly enhanced cycling performance. At charge/discharge current of 0.5C, 1C, 2C, 5C, 10C and 15C, the discharge capacity of the LTO-Ti electrode is 170, 162, 149, 143, 131, and 110 mAhg−1 respectively. After 200 cycles at current of 2C, its capacity retention was 96.7% with almost no capacity fading, exhibiting high capacity, superior rate property and outstanding cycling stability.