Carbon-coated LiTi(2)(PO(4))(3) : an ideal insertion host for lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries

Vanchiappan Aravindan; Wong Chui Ling; Steffen Hartung; Nicolas Bucher; Srinivasan Madhavi

doi:10.1002/asia.201301461

Carbon-coated LiTi(2)(PO(4))(3) : an ideal insertion host for lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries

Chem Asian J. 2014 Mar;9(3):878-82. doi: 10.1002/asia.201301461. Epub 2014 Jan 21.

Authors

Vanchiappan Aravindan¹, Wong Chui Ling, Steffen Hartung, Nicolas Bucher, Srinivasan Madhavi

Affiliation

¹ Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N), Nanyang Technological University, 637553 (Singapore). aravind_van@yahoo.com.

PMID: 24449337
DOI: 10.1002/asia.201301461

Abstract

We report the extraordinary performance of carbon-coated sodium super ion conductor (NASICON)-type LiTi2 (PO4 )3 as an ideal host matrix for reversible insertion of both Li and Na ions. The NASICON-type compound was prepared by means of a Pechini-type polymerizable complex method and was subsequently carbon coated. Several characterization techniques such as XRD, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), field-emission (FE) SEM, TEM, and Raman analysis were used to study the physicochemical properties. Both guest species underwent a two-phase insertion mechanism during the charge/discharge process that was clearly evidenced from galvanostatic and cyclic voltammetric studies. Unlike that of Li (≈1.5 moles of Li), Na insertion exhibits better reversibility (≈1.59 moles of Na) while experiencing a slightly higher capacity fade (≈8 % higher than Li) and polarization (780 mV) than Li. However, excellent rate capability profiles were noted for Na insertion relative to its counterpart Li. Overall, the Na insertion properties were found to be superior relative to Li insertion, which makes carbon-coated NASICON-type LiTi2 (PO4 )3 hosts attractive for the development of next-generation batteries.

Keywords: alkali metals; carbon; conducting materials; electrodes; insertion.