The Synergetic Effect of Inorganic and Organic Compounds Hydrolyzed by Tetrabutyl Titanate on Improving Dispersion and Electrochemical Performance of Li4Ti5O12 Anode Material

Spinel Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) with small particle size has the problem of easy agglomeration, which seriously worsens electrochemical performance but hasn't been yet attracted enough attention. This is one of the biggest challenges in the practical application of LTO. Herein, LTO is modified with tetrabutyl titanate (TBT) to generate inorganic‐organic wrapped LTO anode under simple hydrolysis process. The X‐ray diffraction, fourier transformation infrared spectrum, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy results show the existence of modifying layer, which not only could promote dispersion, but also improve the electrochemical performance. The LTO modified with 0.5 wt.% TBT displays good dispersion with homogeneous particle size distribution and stable viscosity. Moreover, it exhibits excellent cycling properties over 200 cycles at 5 C (153.4 mAh g−1). These results are assigned to the synergetic effect of the inorganic and organic modifying layer, which could be beneficial to the dispersion and electrochemical performance. Tetrabutyl titanate (LTO) was modified using tetrabutyl titanate (TBT) via hydrolysis process, and the effect on the dispersion and electrochemical performance was investigated. The LTO modified with 0.5 wt.% TBT displays optimal performance, which is attributed to the synergistic effect of the inorganic titanium oxide and organic chain produced by the TBT hydrolysis.