Advanced LiTi2(PO4)3@N-doped carbon anode for aqueous lithium ion batteries

In this paper, LiTi 2 (PO 4 ) 3 @N-doped carbon anode has been synthesized by in situ carbon coating approach. The well-proportioned N-doped carbon layer and loose nanoporous structure was obtained by using urea as nitrogen source and pore former. LiTi 2 (PO 4 ) 3 @N-doped carbon as anode demonstrates much better rate capability than LiTi 2 (PO 4 ) 3 @carbon in ALIBs. The optimized anode delivers the discharge capacity of 93.7   mAh   g −1 and 74.2   mAh   g −1 at rates of 10C and 20C, 22.5   mAh   g −1 and 50.0   mAh   g −1 larger than that of LiTi 2 (PO 4 ) 3 @carbon. Moreover, LiTi 2 (PO 4 ) 3 @N-doped carbon exhibits excellent cycling performance with capacity retention of 84.3% at 5C after 1000 cycles. As verified, the well-proportioned N-doped carbon layer could reduce charge transfer resistance and improve electrical conductivity. The loose nanoporous structure could shorten pathway and facilitate diffusion for Li ion. Therefore, LiTi 2 (PO 4 ) 3 @N-doped carbon gets the superior electrochemical properties benefiting from those two characteristics.