One-step preparation of lithium titanate/copper compounds/copper sandwich-structured electrodes for high capacity and thermal conductivity lithium-ion batteries

Sandwich structures as a promising electrode form for its multifunctional. However, it's further application hindered by cumbersome preparation process. Herein, the sandwich-structured lithium titanate/copper com-pounds/copper composite electrodes were one-step fabricated by applying the corrosion reaction mechanism between lithium chloride, lithium bromide and copper. The composite electrode displayed superior discharge capacity of 230 mAh/g at 0.1C, which was higher than the theoretical specific capacity of lithium titanate (175 mAh/g). Thermal tests showed that out-of-plane thermal conductivity of the sandwich-structured electrode was increased by approximately 67 % compared to the unmodified electrode. The preparation process of sandwich-structured electrode is simple and cost-effective, which can be applied to a variety of batteries.