Synthesis and electrochemical properties of LiMn2O4/Li4Ti5O12 composite

LiMn2O4/Li4Ti5O12 composite was synthesized by in-situ composite technique using LiMn2O4, lithium acetate, tetrabutyl titanate as starting materials and characterized by various electrochemical methods in combination with X-ray diffractometry (XRD), infrared (IR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that Li4Ti5O12 is coated on the surface of crystalline LiMn2O4 to form LiMn2O4/Li4Ti5O12 composite. The structure of LiMn2O4 does not change due to the introduction of Li4Ti5O12. By being coated with Li4Ti5O12, the rate capability and high temperature cyclability of LiMn2O4 is improved greatly. At room temperature, the discharge capacity of LiMn2O4/Li4Ti5O12 composite is more than 108.4 mA.h/g and the capacity loss per cycle is only 0.053% after 20 cycles at 2.0C. While at 55 degrees C, the discharge capacity of LiMn2O4/Li4Ti5O12 composite is more than 109.9 mA.h/g and the capacity loss per cycle is only 0.036% after 60 cycles at 1.0C.