LiCrTiO4 Nanowires with the (111) Peak Evolution during High-Performance Lithium Ion Battery Anodes

LiCrTiO4 is a lithium insertion material that is isostructural with Li4Ti5O12. Upon modification of its morphology, LiCrTiO4 nanowires exhibit a high charge capacity of 154.6 mA h g(-1) at 100 mA g(-1), and this value can be maintained at 121.0 mA h even at a high current density of 700 mA g(-1). Furthermore, the cycling performance shows that LiCrTiO4 nanowires can also deliver a reversible capacity of 120.0 mA h g(-1) with 95.6% capacity retention of the first cycle after 550 cycles. The excellent electrochemical properties were revalidated by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. The most interesting feature in this work is the relationship between the periodic variation of the (111) peak intensities and the migration of lithium ions during cycling. This proves that LiCrTiO4 nanowires are a zero-strain insertion material that can be a promising anode material for lithium ion batteries.