Synthesis of graphene-supported Li4Ti5O12nanosheets for high rate battery application

Abstract

The composite structure of Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ (LTO) nanosheets rooted on two-dimensional graphene (GR) was proposed to achieve an enhanced rate performance for high rate lithium ion batteries. Such a nanostructured material of graphene-supported Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ nanosheets (GR-LTOs) was fabricated by using TiO₂ colloid-containing graphene oxide (GO) sheets as precursor in a hydrothermal reaction. TiO₂ colloids serve as the seeds to realize the growth of LTO on GR and ensure the tight bonding between GR and LTO to benefit the charge transfer from the two types of sheets. The GR-LTOs sample possesses excellent electrochemical properties with good cycle stability and a high specific capacity of 140 mA h g⁻¹ at 20 C. It demonstrates that LTO nanosheets, graphene sheets, and their tightly-bonded interfaces provide short ion diffusion distance and good electron conduction in such a composite structure.