Preparation and electrochemical properties of Li4Ti5O12/C anode material by facile solid-state reaction

•A simple route to prepare the Li4Ti5O12/C via one-step solid-state reaction without adding extra carbon sources.•The effects of different synthesis temperatures and Li/Ti molar ratios on the performances of Li4Ti5O12/C are discussed.•As-prepared Li4Ti5O12/C under optimized conditions shows excellent rate performance and cycling stability.

Li4Ti5O12/C composites were synthesized by facile solid-state reaction using lithium lactate as carbon and lithium sources and TiO2 as titanium source. In this process, the effects of different synthesis temperatures and Li/Ti molar ratios were discussed. The crystal structures, microstructures and electrochemical properties of as-prepared Li4Ti5O12/C composites were investigated by thermogravimetric-differential scanning calorimeter, X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, cyclic voltammograms and rate charge–discharge. These analyses showed that the Li4Ti5O12/C composites obtained at optimized conditions of 800 °C and Li/Ti molar ratio of 4:5 exhibited excellent rate performance and cycling stability as well as high reversible capacity with high crystallinity and purity. At 1 C, the optimized Li4Ti5O12/C composites delivered the initial capacity of 168.0 mAh g− 1 with capacity retention of 97.9% after 50 cycles. Particularly, even at 10 C, it still delivered 140.0 mAh g− 1 with a high capacity retention of 90.2% after 200 cycles.