Electrochemical insertion and extraction of lithium ion at uniform nanosized Li4/3Ti5/3O4 particles prepared by a spray pyrolysis method

Nanosized particles of spinel Li4/3Ti5/3O4 were prepared at 673 K by an electrospray pyrolysis method for the first time. TEM observation clarified that the resultant particles were fairly uniform and that the particle sizes were ca. 12 nm with well-defined crystal form. Cyclic voltammetry gave very sharp and symmetrical redox peaks at around 1.56 V vs Li/Li+ due to the insertion and extraction of lithium ion at the nanosized Li4/3Ti5/3O4. These results indicate that the apparent fast diffusion of lithium ion can be attained by using uniform nanosized particles.