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High Tap Density Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 Microspheres: Synthetic Conditions and Advanced Electrochemical Performance
Author(s) -
Ren Jianxin,
Ming Hai,
Jia Zhenyong,
Zhang Yanqing,
Ming Jun,
Zhou Qun,
Zheng Junwei
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
energy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 2194-4296
pISSN - 2194-4288
DOI - 10.1002/ente.201700069
Subject(s) - materials science , electrochemistry , lithium (medication) , sintering , thermal diffusivity , chemical engineering , slurry , ion , particle size , analytical chemistry (journal) , electrode , composite material , chromatography , chemistry , thermodynamics , organic chemistry , medicine , physics , engineering , endocrinology
Abstract Preparation of uniform, spherical Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 with high tap density is significant to achieve a high volumetric energy density in lithium‐ion batteries. Herein, Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 microspheres with variable tap density and tunable size distribution were synthesized by a newly designed industrial spray‐drying approach. The slurry concentration, sintering time, sintering conditions after spraying, and the effect of lithium/titanium molar ratio on the lithium‐ion (Li + ) storage capability were investigated. A narrow particle size distribution of around 10 μm and a high tap density close to 1.4 g cm −3 of the Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 spheres can be obtained under the optimized conditions. The Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 spheres can deliver a much higher capacity of 168 mAh g −1 at a rate of 1 C and show a high capacity retention of 97.7 % over 400 cycles. The synthetic conditions are confirmed to be critical for improving the electron conductivity and Li + diffusivity by adjusting the crystal and spatial structures. As‐prepared high‐performance Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 is an ideal electrode for lithium‐ion batteries or capacitors; meanwhile, the presented approach is also applicable for preparing other kind of spherical materials.