Synthesis of nanocrystalline Li4 Ti5 O12 by chemical lithiation of anatase nanocrystals and postannealing

Here, we report a chemical process for the preparation of nanosized Li4 Ti5 O12 anode material for Li-ion batteries. Anatase TiO2 nanopowders were first lithiated in LiOH solution at low temperature and then formed an intermediate Li-Ti-O precursor by oriented attachment, which was subsequently converted to Li4 Ti5 O12 by a short postannealing. The obtained Li4 Ti5 O12 powders were 30 nm in size on average and showed a high phase purity and crystallinity. The electrochemical tests indicated that the synthesized nanosized Li4 Ti5 O12 exhibited a good lithium storage capacity and high cycle stability as well, even at high charge/discharge current rates.