Synthesis of lithium lanthanum titanate derived from local lanthanum oxalate and its electrochemical impedance spectroscopic characterization for lithium-ion battery anode

The lithium-ion battery is one of the promising technologies that enable the transition of fossil-based energy to renewable energy in eco-friendly electric vehicles due to its superior energy storage performance. Research on energy materials for lithium-ion batteries continues to be carried out intensively to date. To support this plan, this research was aimed at synthesizing an energy material in the form of lithium lanthanum titanate (LLTO) through a simple and low-cost solid-state reaction from a combination of local lanthanum oxalate (95.296 at. % lanthanum), commercial lithium carbonate, and commercial titanium oxide. In this method, two-stage calcination was used, where the first stage was carried out at a temperature of 800 °C for 8 h under ambient atmospheric conditions while the second stage was performed at three different temperatures, namely 1050 °C, 1150 °C, and 1250 °C for 12 h under ambient atmospheric conditions which produced 98.070, 98.141, and 92.328 wt.% LLTO, respectively. The synthesized LLTOs were formed as bulk materials and exhibited a perovskite-type structure. Based on the previous work, the LLTOs could possess intercalation pseudocapacitive behavior leading to rapid charge storage and release processes. At the same time, the empty spaces between the LLTO particles are predicted to be able to store much lithium-ion leading to an increased energy storage capacity of LLTO. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopic characterization showed that LLTO calcined at 1150 °C had the best electrochemical properties for usage as an anode material in lithium-ion batteries.