Microwave solid-state synthesis of spinel Li4Ti5O12 nanocrystallites as anode material for lithium-ion batteries

Spinel Li4Ti5O12 nanocrystallites as anode material for lithium-ion batteries were synthesized by microwave method with Li2CO3 and TiO2 as reactants. The morphology and microstructure of the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR). The electrochemical properties of the samples were studied by cyclic voltammogram (CV) and galvanostatic charge/discharge tests. It was shown that the purity and the crystallinity of the composite oxides were dependent on the irradiation power and time and the crystallites were regular sphere-like nanoparticles about 40–50 nm in size. The spinel Li4Ti5O12 anode has a stable voltage plateau, high discharge capacity and an excellent cyclibility.