Graphene oxide-confined synthesis of Li4Ti5O12 microspheres as high-performance anodes for lithium ion batteries

This paper reports a graphene oxide (GO) confined strategy to synthesize reduced GO-coated lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12, LTO) microspheres using as-prepared TiO2 microspheres and GO as raw materials. The obtained samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy and spectrophotometer. Results show that the spherical LTO is formed with approximate 1 μm diameter after hydrothermal reactions, which is due to a confined effect of GO on the surface of TiO2 spheres. Electrochemical tests reveal that the presence of rGO can increase the capacity and cycling stability of LTO anodes, especially at higher C rate. The 3 wt% rGO-coated LTO anodes present a higher reversible Li-ion storage with a specific discharge capacity of 131.6 mAh g−1 at 5 C and 97% retention even after 500 cycles, which are more excellent than those of pristine LTO. The GO-confined method is anticipated to synthesize other electrode materials with high electrochemical performances.