Synthesis of graphene-supported Li4Ti5O12 nanosheets for high rate battery application

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.