LAUSR

Abstract Lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12) has been suggested as a commercial anode material for Li-ion batteries due to the stable crystal structure, environmental friendliness, good safety and long lifetime. Unfortunately, the electrical conductivity of Li4Ti5O12 is very bad which has a negative impact on the rate capability. In this research, the three-dimensional carbon nanotube-scaffolded Li4Ti5O12@C microsphere (CNT@Li4Ti5O12@C) has been prepared via a facile spray-drying approach followed by a thermal treatment. The as-fabricated composite is systematically investigated by XRD, XPS, TG, Raman spectrum, SEM, TEM and different electrochemical tests. In this designed material, the added carbon nanotubes uniformly distribute in the Li4Ti5O12@C microspheres and further establish the conductive networks which can significantly modify the electrical conductivity and promote the Li+ diffusion of Li4Ti5O12. The CNT@Li4Ti5O12@C anode displays a high-rate capacity of 156.2 mAh g−1 at 5C and it also shows a low capacity loss (3.4%) over 500 cycles at 15C. These results reveal that this new strategy can be used to improve other anode or cathode materials for electrochemical energy conversion and storage.