Influence of sintering temperature on the properties of Li4Ti5O12 anode material for lithium-ion batteries

The Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ (LTO) anode materials for lithium-ion batteries were prepared by hydrothermal method in this paper, using tetrabutyl titanate as the titanium source and lithium hydroxide monohydrate as the lithium source. The influence of sintering temperature on the phase composition, microstructures, and electrochemical properties of LTO was investigated. The results show that the spinel LTO is formed at 500, 550, 600, 650, and 700℃, respectively. The microstructures of LTO are present as the nanosheets sintered at 500, 550, and 600℃, the nanorods sintered at 650℃, and the thicker nonosheets sintered at 700℃. The LTO exhibits the high specific surface area of 94.5907 m²·g^-1, the good pore volume of 0.9663 mL·g^-1, and the highest initial discharge capacity of 240 mAh·g^-1 sintered at 650℃. Additionally, the LTO has an excellent cycling performance with capacity retention ratio of 96.45% after 260 cycles at 100 mA·g^-1, and the capacity retention ratio of 92.97% and 77.21% after 1000 cycles at 1 and 2 A·g^-1, respectively.