In situ self-assembly assisted synthesis of N-doped mesoporous hierarchical carbon aerogels-wrapped Li₂ZnTi₃O₈ composite for high-rate lithium ion batteries

Reinforcing electronic and ionic conductivity is very important to realize the high-rate Li₂ZnTi₃O₈ (LZTO) anode for Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Here, we reported a synthetic strategy toward in situ growth of homodispersed Li₂ZnTi₃O₈ on ultralight 3D carbon aerogels (CAs) via facile heat treatment and activation process taking LiOH as activating agent. Such an optimized composite obtains a specific surface area of 154.427 m² g⁻¹ and a high pore volume. The strong interaction between the LZTO and N-doped CAs, a highly electrical conductivity and multidimensional ion transport channels of the hybrid result in a high capacity, outstanding high-rate performance and long cycle life. As a result, the NPC-LZTO electrode (NPC-LZTO-B) delivers a commendable reversible capacity at high-rate (e.g. 162.4 mAh g⁻¹ at 5 A g⁻¹ (22 C) and 127.3 mAh g⁻¹ at 10 A g⁻¹) and durable long-term performance (capacity retention of 73% after 4500 cycles at 5 A g⁻¹). Moreover, the kinetic analysis confirms that the feature of pseudocapacitance boosts lithium-ion storage performance at high rate. Porous carbon aerogels frame constructed LZTO nanocomposite electrodes provide a facile way to design high durable LIBs anode.