Issue 57, 2018

Alginic acid aquagel as a template and carbon source in the synthesis of Li4Ti5O12/C nanocomposites for application as anodes in Li-ion batteries

Abstract

We report here a simple process for the synthesis of Li4Ti5O12(LTO)/carbon nanocomposites by a one-pot method using an alginic acid aquagel as a template and carbon source, and lithium acetate and TiO2 nanoparticles as precursors to the LTO phase. The carbon content can be tuned by adjusting the relative amount of alginic acid. The obtained materials consist of nanosized primary particles of LTO (30 nm) forming micron-sized aggregates covered by well-dispersed carbon (from 3 to 19 wt%). The homogeneous dispersion of carbon over the particles improves the electrochemical performance of LTO electrodes such as rate capability (>95 mA h g−1 at 40C) and cycling performance (>98% of retention after 500 cycles at 5C), even with only 3% of carbon black additive in the electrode formulation. With a simple and easily up-scalable synthesis, the LTO/carbon nanocomposites of this study are promising candidates as anode materials for practical application in lithium-ion batteries.

Graphical abstract: Alginic acid aquagel as a template and carbon source in the synthesis of Li4Ti5O12/C nanocomposites for application as anodes in Li-ion batteries

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
11 Jul 2018
Accepted
30 Aug 2018
First published
20 Sep 2018
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Adv., 2018,8, 32558-32564

Alginic acid aquagel as a template and carbon source in the synthesis of Li4Ti5O12/C nanocomposites for application as anodes in Li-ion batteries

S. Kim, J. G. Alauzun, N. Louvain, N. Brun, L. Stievano, B. Boury, L. Monconduit and P. H. Mutin, RSC Adv., 2018, 8, 32558 DOI: 10.1039/C8RA05928D

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