Electrochemical characterization of Li ₄ Ti ₅ O ₁₂/C anode material prepared by starch-sol-assisted rheological phase method for Li-ion battery

Li ₄Ti ₅O ₁₂/C composite was synthesized by starch-sol-assisted rheological phase method using inexpensive raw material starch as carbon coating precursor. The Li ₄Ti ₅O ₁₂/C powder was characterized using XRD, SEM, and TG techniques. The synthesized Li ₄Ti ₅O ₁₂/C crystallites are cohesively covered by conductive carbon from starch sol which leads to increased conductivity, and the particle size of Li ₄Ti ₅O ₁₂/C is about 500nm. The electrochemical performance of Li ₄Ti ₅O ₁₂/C was characterized by galvanostatic charge/discharge and EIS methods, and the results show that the Li ₄Ti ₅O ₁₂/C presents a high discharge capacity, high rate capability, and long cycle life. The capacity retention was at 87 (500 cycles at 1C) and 73.0 (2000 cycles at 20C) indicating promising high rate performance of Li ₄Ti ₅O ₁₂/C as anode material for lithium ion battery.