Effect of Heat-treatment Temperature on the Structure and Properties of Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ Nanorods Prepared by the Hydrothermal Ion Exchange Method

Li4Ti5O12 nanorods were prepared by hydrothermal ion exchange method. The weight loss process of Li4Ti5O12 during the heat treatment was studied by thermogravimetric method (TG). The structure and composition of the samples obtained at different hydrothermal temperatures (150℃ and 180℃) and different heat-treatment tempera- tures (600℃, 750℃ and 900℃) were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The electrochemical performances were evaluated by means of various techniques including galvanostatic charge/discharge tests and cycle voltammetry (CV) in terms of cycling performance and rate capability. The results in- dicate that Li4Ti5O12 nanorods can be synthesized after hydrothermal reaction at 180℃ by the way of ion exchanges. The first specific discharge capacity of the samples heat-treated at 750℃ is 164 mAh/g with retention ratio of 98.33% after 50 charge-discharge cycling, and the voltage plateau at 1.5V could be seen in the discharge curves distinctively.