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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Effect of doping and crystallite size on the electrochemical performance of Li4Ti5O12

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Abstract Defect spinel phase lithium titanate (Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 ) has been suggested as a promising negative electrode material for next generation lithium ion batteries. Flame spray pyrolysis has been shown to be a viable fast, one-step process for synthesis of nanoparticulate Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 . However, due to the rapid quenching that is integral to the process the crystallite size remain very small and non-uniform. To overcome this shortcoming a vertical flow tube furnace was used to increase the high-temperature residence time. This resulted in an increase in the crystallite size and crystallinity of the product. As a result of this increase the electrochemical performance of the Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 was markedly improved. Furthermore, silver doping of the Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 material can be carried out simultaneously with its synthesis in the FSP process. The resulting nanosized silver particles on the surface of the Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 particles further improve the electrochemical performance during high current operations. The specific capacities of these high-temperature synthesised pure and silver-doped Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 nanoparticles were found to increase by up to 6% and 19%, respectively, compared to a commercial reference. Thus the technique provides a simple method for synthesising superior quality Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 for battery applications.