Synthesis and high-rate performance of spinel Li4Ti5O12 with core-shell hierarchical macro-mesoporous structure

The spinel Li4Ti5O12 with a core-shell hierarchical macro-mesoporous structure has been synthesized via a hydrothermal reaction followed by a subsequent calcination step. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy show that the hydrothermal reaction time greatly influences the structure of the spinel Li4Ti5O12 through the Ostwald ripening process. An N-2 adsorption-desorption study and mercury intrusion porosimetry measurements show that the optimized product has a high specific surface area of 77.14 m(2) g(-1) with meso-and macropores. Used as the anode material for lithium-ion batteries, the spinel Li4Ti5O12 exhibits an excellent high-rate performance with a discharge specific capacity of 117.9 mA h g(-1) at a rate of 10 C (1700 mA g(-1)).