Preparation and electrochemical properties of Li4Ti5O12/Si3N4 composites as anode materials for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

Abstract Herein, the synthesis of Si 3 N 4 -modified Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 composites was realized for anode materials in high-performance Li-ion batteries. By controlling the introduction content of Si 3 N 4 in the Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 /Si 3 N 4 composites, the morphology and electrochemical performance of the Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 /Si 3 N 4 -based Li-ion batteries were investigated. In addition, the XRD and XPS results demonstrated that all samples had the same standard spinel Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 structure with the Fd3 m space group. Therefore, it is clear that Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 /Si 3 N 4 -based anode materials exhibit superior electrochemical performance toward oxygen redox processes in Li-ion systems. The final lithium-ion battery that contains Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 with a Si 3 N 4 coating amount of 2% has a superior discharge capacity (198.4 mAh/g at 1C), and its capacity retention rate reaches 88.96% after 200 charge-discharge cycles. These results indicate that the as-prepared Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 /Si 3 N 4 composites with excellent electrochemical performances have potential applications in Li-ion batteries as anode materials.