Dual-Phase Li4Ti5O12/TiO2(B) Heteronanostructures as Anodes for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

The synthesis of dual phase Li4Ti5O12/TiO2(B) composite remains a tremendous challenge due to the easy formation of anatase TiO2 instead of Li4Ti5O12 in the process. In this work, Li4Ti5O12/TiO2(B) heteronanostructures comprising porous TiO2(B) nanofibers integrated with Li4Ti5O12 nanocrystals are synthesized and applied as anode for lithium-ion batteries. Benefiting from the complementary advantages of higher theoretical capacity of TiO2(B) with favourable pseudocapacitive behaviour and excellent cyclability of Li4Ti5O12,this heteronanostructure demonstrates a superior lithium-ion storage performance in terms of high discharge capacity and remarkable long-term stability. As a result, Li4Ti5O12/TiO2(B) heteronanostructures manifest discharge capacity of 130 mAhg−1 and capacity retention of 93 % at high rate of 1.75 Ag-1, compared to those of TiO2(B) pristine of 90 mAhg−1 and 75 %. The superior electrochemical performance demonstrated by Li4Ti5O12/TiO2(B) heteronanostructure reveals a new direction of integration of Li4Ti5O12 into TiO2(B) to improve both the capacity performance and cyclability.