Synthesis of defects and TiO₂ co-enhanced Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ by a simple solid-state method as advanced anode for lithium-ion batteries

High performance and low process cost are two contradictory issues, which limited the commercial application of Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ (LTO). Here, defects and TiO₂ co-enhanced LTO have been synthesized by a simple solid-state method. The crystal structure and morphology of the as-synthesized samples were characterized. The results show that the uniform nanoparticles with spinel structure contained defects and TiO₂. Defects and TiO₂ co-enhanced LTO shows outstanding reversible discharge capacity of 168.2 mAh g⁻¹ at 1 C after 500 cycles. Further, it presents a stability discharge ability of 155 mAh g⁻¹ at 55 °C at 1 C after 500 cycles. The advanced electrochemical performance could be attributed to the defects and TiO₂ in LTO, which enhance conductivity and produce rich reaction interface, facilitating Li⁺ ion diffusion kinetics. The as-synthesized LTO shows high performance in conjunction with low process cost.