Improved low-temperature electrochemical performance of Li4Ti5O12 composite anodes for Li-ion batteries

The poor electrochemical performance of Li-ion batteries at low temperature is one of the major tech-nical barriers to their practical application as energy sources. Here we report an attempt to improve thelow-temperature electrochemical behavior of Li4Ti5O12(LTO) anodes by replacing pristine Super-P witha Cu/Super-P composite in the electrodes composition. The composite, consisting of copper nanoparticlessupported on Super-P carbon (Cu/Super-P), has been synthesized via a fast one-pot microwave-assistedpolyol procedure. The comparison between the electrochemical performances of electrodes manufac-tured with pristine Super-P and of those that used the Cu/Super-P shows that the synthesized compositeis indeed effective in enhancing the low-temperature electrochemical behavior of LTO anodes. Galvano-static cycling demonstrates that much higher capacities are obtained within the investigated temperaturerange (from 20 to -30°C), regardless of the applied C-rate. Furthermore, the study of the differentialcapacity plots clearly shows that lower polarization is achieved when the Cu/Super-P composite replaces pristine Super-P.