Fabrication of phosphorus-doped carbon-decorated Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ anode and its lithium storage performance for Li-ion batteries

In this research, the phosphorus-doped carbon-decorated Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ composite (denoted as Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ @PC) has been fabricated for the first time using a facile sol-gel-assisted solid-state approach. The effects of P-doping on the crystal structure, morphology and lithium storage property of Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ @PC are investigated in detail. When used as anode for Li-ion batteries, it presents outstanding rate capacity (143.3 mAh g⁻¹ at 15 C) and cycle-life stability (156.8 mAh g⁻¹ at 5 C after 300 cycles). The excellent lithium storage property is attributed to the coated P-doped carbon layer which can inhibit the growth of Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ nanoparticles during the synthesis process and provide high conductivity transport pathway for electron. This novel “P-doped carbon coating” strategy can be extended to fabricate other high-property electrodes for energy storage.