High-strength all-solid lithium ion electrodes based on Li4Ti5O12

A Li4Ti5O12-Li0.29La0.57TiO3-Ag electrode composite was fabricated via sintering the corresponding powder mixture. The process achieved a final relative density of 97% the theoretical. Relatively thick, similar to 100 mu m, electrodes were fabricated to enhance the energy density relatively to the traditional solid-state thin film battery electrodes. The sintered electrode composite delivered full capacity in the first discharge at C/40 discharge rate. Full capacity utilization resulted from the 3D percolated network of both solid electrolyte and metal, which provide paths for ionic and electronic transport, respectively. The electrodes retained 85% of the theoretical capacity after 10 cycles at C/40 discharge rate. The tensile strength and the Young's modulus of the sintered electrode composite are the highest reported values to date, and are at least an order of magnitude higher than the corresponding value of traditional tapecast composite electrodes. The results demonstrate the concept of utilizing thick all-solid electrodes for high-strength batteries, which might be used as multifunctional structural and energy storage materials. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.