Supercritical continuous hydrothermal synthesis of lithium titanate anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

A method for synthesizing lithium titanate includes preparing a supercritical fluid from water; reacting a solution containing lithium and titanium with the supercritical fluid under a condition that maintains the supercritical fluid in its supercritical state to produce a reaction mixture comprising the lithium titanate; and collecting the lithium titanate. The supercritical fluid is prepared at a temperature of 375-500° C. and a pressure of 22-35 MPa. The solution containing lithium and titanium is prepared by mixing a solution containing lithium, prepared by dissolving a lithium source in a selected solvent, and a solution containing titanium, prepared by dissolving a titanium source in the selected solvent, wherein a molar ratio of lithium:titanium is between 4.0:5.0 and 4.5:5.0. The lithium source is lithium hydroxide, lithium carbonate, lithium acetate, lithium oxalate, lithium nitrate, or lithium oxide, and the titanium source is tetrabutyl titanate.