Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ Nanoshell on TiO₂ Nanofibers as a Durable Anode for Li-Ion Battery Energy Storage

TiO 2 (B), despite its high theoretical capacity, suffers from a dramatic initial irreversible capacity loss (ICL), thus hindering its application as an anode material in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In this work, we successfully construct a Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 nanoshell on TiO 2 nanofibers, in which the pristine TiO 2 nanofibers are mixed phases of TiO 2 (B) and anatase TiO 2 . Benefiting from the effective protection of the TiO 2 surface by the Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 nanoshell and the presence of abundant Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 /TiO 2 nanointerfaces, the resulting Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 –TiO 2 nanofibers (LTO–TiO 2 ) demonstrate negligible ICL with enhanced rate capability and consistent performance over prolonged cycles. This work not only demonstrates that LTO–TiO 2 can be utilized as a viable LIB energy storage material with high energy density (380 W h kg –1 ) but also gives an insight into the strategy of using Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 as a nanoshell to mitigate the SEI formation and eliminate the initial irreversible capacity loss of other electrodes.