Polycrystal Li2ZnTi3O8/C anode with lotus seedpod structure for high-performance lithium storage

Zhanjun Chen; Tao Wang; Meihuang Liu; Panyu Duan; Feng Xiong; Yang Zhou; Zhenyu Yan; Wei Yang; Han Chen; Zhenyu Yang; Chao Li

doi:10.3389/fchem.2023.1135325

Polycrystal Li₂ZnTi₃O₈/C anode with lotus seedpod structure for high-performance lithium storage

Front Chem. 2023 May 9:11:1135325. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2023.1135325. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Zhanjun Chen¹, Tao Wang², Meihuang Liu¹, Panyu Duan¹, Feng Xiong¹, Yang Zhou¹, Zhenyu Yan¹, Wei Yang¹, Han Chen³, Zhenyu Yang², Chao Li²

Affiliations

¹ Modern Industry School of Advanced Ceramics, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Fine Ceramics and Powder Materials, School of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Hunan University of Humanities, Science and Technology, Loudi, China.
² School of Materials Science and Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan, Guangdong, China.
³ School of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Changsha University, Changsha, China.

Abstract

Lotus-seedpod structured Li₂ZnTi₃O₈/C (P-LZTO) microspheres obtained by the molten salt method are reported for the first time. The received phase-pure Li₂ZnTi₃O₈ nanoparticles are inserted into the carbon matrix homogeneously to form a Lotus-seedpod structure, as confirmed by the morphological and structural measurements. As the anode for lithium-ion batteries, the P-LZTO material demonstrates excellent electrochemical performance with a high rate capacity of 193.2 mAh g^-1 at 5 A g^-1 and long-term cyclic stability up to 300 cycles at 1 A g^-1. After even 300 cyclings, the P-LZTO particles can maintain their morphological and structural integrity. The superior electrochemical performances have arisen from the unique structure where the polycrystalline structure is beneficial for shorting the lithium-ion diffusion path, while the well-encapsulated carbon matrix can not only enhance the electronic conductivity of the composite but also alleviate the stress anisotropy during lithiation/delithiation process, leading to well-preserved particles.

Keywords: Li2ZnTi3O8; anode; lithium-ion battery; lotus seedpod; polycrystalline.

Grants and funding

ZC wants to acknowledge the financial support from the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province of China (2021JJ30374), Hunan Provincial Education Office Foundation of China (No. 19A261), Key R&D projects in Hunan Province (2021GK2015). TW wants to acknowledge the financial support from Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province of China-Regional joint fund (No. 2021B1515140025) and Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province of China-General Program (No. 2022A1515010972).