Spinel-type lithium and titanium composite oxide Li4Ti5O12 was successfully synthesized via a novel hydrolysis method followed by calcination using titanium tetrachloride(TiCl4) and lithium hydroxide(LiOH H2O) as raw materials. Three major factors, including LiOH concentration, LiOH dosage, and hydrolysis temperature were studied for optimizing the synthetic conditions to obtain a phase-pure Li4Ti5O12. The physical and electrochemical properties of samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), thermogravimetric analysis(TGA), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), and constant current discharge–charge test. The FT-IR results indicate the presence of [TiO6]octahedra. The SEM images show that the Li4Ti5O12 precursor obtained is an amorphous solid with an irregular and rough morphology. It is revealed that the phase-pure spinel Li4Ti5O12 powders with well crystallization and regular morphology can be obtained by calcining the precursor at800 °C for 6 h. The constant current discharge–charge tests indicate that the Li4Ti5O12 material delivers an excellent cycling ability, maintaining 93.8 % of its initial specific capacity after 60 cycles at a current density of 0.5C.
