Mesoporous carbon-coated Li4Ti5O12 spheres for fast Li+ ion insertion/deinsertion in lithium battery anodes

We report on synthesis and electrochemical properties of a family of carbon-coated, mesoporous lithium titanate nanostructures (C@Li4Ti5O12). Synthesized using a scalable solvothermal approach employing low-cost petroleum pitch as the carbon source, the nanostructured C@Li4Ti5O12 materials manifest exceptional capacity to reversibly intercalate/de-intercalate lithium at both low and high charge rates. The combination of fast electrolyte and ion transport made possible in the inherently zero-strain material, Li4Ti5O12, is thought to be responsible for our observations.