Ti <sub>3</sub> C <sub>2</sub> /CNTs Macroporous Conductive Network Boosts Li <sub>4</sub> Ti <sub>5</sub> O <sub>12</sub> -TiO <sub>2</sub> Anode Performance for Practical Li Ion and Mg Ion Batteries
Wenhan Zhang, Yong Li, Taolin Lv, Wen Liu, Ying Luo, Rui Guo, Haijuan Pei, Chunyan Lai, Jingying Xie
Abstract
Spinel lithium titanate (Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 ) has been widely used as anode electrode for long-life lithium ion batteries (LIBs), however, it suffers from inherent poor electronic and ionic conductivity which limits its further development. Here, a composite macroporous conductive network is constructed by carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and few-layer titanium carbide (Ti 3 C 2 s) and used for the modification of Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 -TiO 2 . Owing to the excellent mechanical properties of CNTs and Ti 3 C 2 s, the prepared Ti 3 C 2 s-CNTs-Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 /TiO 2 (T-C-L) material can be directly used as binder-free electrode. Specifically, CNTs serve as a connection skeleton to stabilize the electrode structure and provide a conductive network to improve electron transport capabilities; the addition of Ti 3 C 2 s is beneficial to the formation of macropores which can further improve ion diffusion; the existence of TiO 2 phase can improve its capacity as well as rate capability. Reasonable design and the synergistic effect of each component endow T-C-L outstanding Li-storage performance and Mg-storage performance. When combined with lithium belt to form a pouch battery, the T-C-L also exhibits satisfactory bending performance, which further expand its practicality. These results show great promise of the prepared T-C-L for LIBs and magnesium ion batteries (MIBs) and provide a modification method for other electrode materials that suffer from poor ion/electron diffusion capabilities.