Mesoporous Spinel Li4Ti5O12 Nanoparticles for High Rate Lithium-ion Battery Anodes

•Mesoporous Li4Ti5O12 nanoparticles were prepared by a simple hydrothermal method.•The mesoporous Li4Ti5O12 nanoparticles exhibited a diameter of 40 ± 5 nm and a pore-size distribution of 6 - 8 nm.•Cells with the mesoporous Li4Ti5O12 anode showed excellent high rate electrochemical properties.

Mesoporous spinel lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12) nanoparticles with the diameter of 40 ± 5 nm and the pore-size distribution of 6 - 8 nm were prepared by a simple hydrothermal method. As an anode material for lithium-ion batteries, these spinel Li4Ti5O12 mesoporous nanoparticles exhibited desirable lithium storage properties with an initial discharge capacity of 176 mAh g−1 at 1 C rate and a capacity of approximately 145 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at a high rate of 20 C. These excellent electrochemical properties at high charge/discharge rates are due to the mesoporous nano-scale structures with small size particles, uniform mesopores and larger electrode/electrolyte contact area, which shortens the diffusion path for both electrons and Li+ ions, and offers more active sites for Li+ insertion-extraction process.

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