Enhancing battery performance of Li4Ti5O12 nanorod synthesized by hydrothermal method with Sn addition as anode material for lithium-ion battery

Abstract

Li4Ti5O12 nanorod/Sn composite has been prepared as anode material for a lithium-ion battery. Sn powder is added with a variation of 5%, 10%, and 15%. Synthesis of Li4Ti5O12 is done by synthesizing TiO2 precursor with a sol-gel method; the precursors are treated hydrothermally in NaOH 10 M solution for 24 h at 180°C. The obtained nanorod precursor then mixed with LiOH to obtain Li4Ti5O12 with nanorod structure. This nanorod is combined with Sn, the obtained powder then becomes the active material for lithium battery anode. Li4Ti5O12 nanorod/Sn composite is characterized using XRD, SEM-EDX and TEM. To study the battery performance several tests are conducted, these tests consist of EIS, CV, and CD. Cyclic voltammetry testing shows the addition of Sn resulting a shift in reaction voltage improving battery capacity to 191 mAh g−1 with 10% Sn addition. The improvement is caused by nano structure owned by the samples in current research, meanwhile the shift in voltage indicates microalloying and will result in more significant battery cell voltage.

Keywords

• Anode
• Hydrothermal
• Lithium titanate
• Nanorod
• Sol-gel