Highly porous Li4Ti5O12/C nanofibers for ultrafast electrochemical energy storage

The storage of electrical energy at high charge and discharge rates is an important technology in modern society, and can enable electric vehicles, supply back-up for solar and wind energy, and firm the output of a renewables-based grid. In this work, highly porous Li4Ti5O12/C nanofibers are successfully designed and prepared through electrospinning combined with a post-two-step annealing process. Such a unique Li4Ti5O12/C hybrid with a well-defined porous nanoarchitecture exhibits ultrahigh cycling rates and superior cycling stability, when evaluated as an anode material for both lithium ion batteries and supercapacitors. This work presents a facile and cost-effective approach that is potentially competitive for scaling-up production of high-performance electrode materials for high-rate electrochemical energy-storage devices. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.