Investigation into the Surface Chemistry of Li4Ti5O12Nanoparticles for Lithium Ion Batteries.
Elucidating surface chemistry of Li4Ti5O12anode material plays a critical role in solving gas evolution in Li4Ti5O12-based lithium ion batteries. Herein, we propose a CO2cycloaddition reaction to study the surface chemistry of Li4Ti5O12nanoparticles. Through the reaction, bare Li4Ti5O12nanoparticles were demonstrated to have extensive Lewis-acid sites, that is, dangling Ti bonds or hydroxyl groups. Lewis-acid site is considered to be able to initiate the decomposition of electrolyte solvents and may also serve as one of the main reasons for gas evolution. TiNxcoating layer is used to cover up the Lewis-acid site and is able to decrease yield of the cycloaddition reaction to some extent. These findings may provide a simple yet very effective way to evaluate surface chemistry and gas evolution in other lithium ion batteries, not limited to Li4Ti5O12-based batteries.
Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University , Guangzhou 510275, China.|Department of Materials Science and Engineering, South University of Science and Technology of China , Shenzhen, 518055, China.
Yongqing
Y
Wang
Center for Gene and Cell Engineering, Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Shenzhen 518055, China.
Jing
J
Zhao
State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology , Beijing 100029, China.
Jin
J
Qu
Anshun University , 25 Xue Yuan Road, Anshun Economic Development Zone, Guizhou 561000, China.
Fangfang
F
Wei
CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Nanostructure and Nanotechnology, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) , Beijing, 100190, China.
Weiguo
W
Song
CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Nanostructure and Nanotechnology, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) , Beijing, 100190, China.
Yu-Guo
YG
Guo
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, South University of Science and Technology of China , Shenzhen, 518055, China.
Baomin
B
Xu
Lewis acid; Li4Ti5O12; carbon dioxide; lithium-ion battery; swelling