In situ self-assembly assisted synthesis of N-doped mesoporous hierarchical carbon aerogels-wrapped Li2ZnTi3O8 composite for high-rate lithium ion batteries

Reinforcing electronic and ionic conductivity is very important to realize the high-rate Li2ZnTi3O8 (LZTO) anode for Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Here, we reported a synthetic strategy toward in situ growth of homodispersed Li2ZnTi3O8 on ultralight 3D carbon aerogels (CAs) via facile heat treatment and activation process taking LiOH as activating agent. Such an optimized composite obtains a specific surface area of 154.427 m2 g−1 and a high pore volume. The strong interaction between the LZTO and N-doped CAs, a highly electrical conductivity and multidimensional ion transport channels of the hybrid result in a high capacity, outstanding high-rate performance and long cycle life. As a result, the NPC-LZTO electrode (NPC-LZTO-B) delivers a commendable reversible capacity at high-rate (e.g. 162.4 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1 (22 C) and 127.3 mAh g−1 at 10 A g−1) and durable long-term performance (capacity retention of 73% after 4500 cycles at 5 A g−1). Moreover, the kinetic analysis confirms that the feature of pseudocapacitance boosts lithium-ion storage performance at high rate. Porous carbon aerogels frame constructed LZTO nanocomposite electrodes provide a facile way to design high durable LIBs anode.