{ "spore": "profile", "id": "lithium-titanate", "spore_version": "0.2", "family": "lithium", "name": "Lithium titanate", "abbreviation": "LTO", "role": "anode", "category": "energy", "type": "li-ion-anodes", "summary": "Lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12) is a spinel oxide used as a lithium-ion anode. It works at a much higher voltage than graphite and barely changes size when lithium enters, so it avoids lithium plating and lasts through very many cycles, at the cost of lower cell energy. Its known weak point is gas generation that swells soft-pack cells.\n", "best_for": "Very long cycle life and fast charge, with no lithium plating and almost no size change.", "weakest_at": "Lower cell energy (high voltage, low capacity per gram) and gas generation with swelling in cells.", "identity": { "formula": "Li4Ti5O12", "cas": "12031-95-7", "crystal_system": "cubic (spinel)", "space_group": "Fd-3m", "designations": [], "source": "julien-2024", "where": "Section 1 (structure) and SDS section 1 for CAS (sds-mse-lto)" }, "tags": { "environments": [ "low-earth-orbit" ], "stresses": [ "extreme-cold" ], "applications": [ "batteries" ] }, "properties": [ { "benchmark": "theoretical_capacity", "value": 175, "bound": "exact", "unit": "mAh/g", "scope": "material", "conditions": { "voltage_window": "2.5 to 1.0 V vs Li/Li+", "reaction": "lithium insertion into the Li4Ti5O12 spinel (the source does not give the lithium count)" }, "method": "Value quoted by the paper as the theoretical capacity of the spinel", "status": "calculated", "source": "he-2012", "where": "Introduction", "source_detail": { "title": "Gassing in Li4Ti5O12-based batteries and its remedy", "id": "Sci. Rep. 2:913, doi 10.1038/srep00913", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/srep00913", "year": 2012, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY-NC-ND 3.0" } }, { "benchmark": "avg_voltage", "label": "Working voltage plateau", "value": 1.55, "bound": "exact", "unit": "V vs Li/Li+", "scope": "material", "conditions": { "reaction": "two-phase Li4Ti5O12 to Li7Ti5O12 plateau", "note": "flat plateau, not an average over a sloping curve" }, "method": "Half-cell galvanostatic discharge, as summarized in a review", "status": "ground", "source": "julien-2024", "where": "Section 1", "source_detail": { "title": "Fabrication of Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) as Anode Material for Li-Ion Batteries (Julien, Micromachines)", "id": "doi 10.3390/mi15030310", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15030310", "year": 2024, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY 4.0" } }, { "benchmark": "practical_capacity", "label": "Capacity of LTO in a NCM/LTO soft-pack cell, cycle 1", "value": 148.7, "bound": "exact", "unit": "mAh/g", "scope": "cell", "conditions": { "rate": "0.5C charge and discharge", "temperature_C": 25, "cell": "soft-pack, Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 cathode, 1 M LiPF6 in EC+DMC+EMC" }, "method": "Specific capacity of the LTO measured in the full cell", "status": "ground", "source": "he-2012", "where": "Results (Figure 1a)", "source_detail": { "title": "Gassing in Li4Ti5O12-based batteries and its remedy", "id": "Sci. Rep. 2:913, doi 10.1038/srep00913", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/srep00913", "year": 2012, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY-NC-ND 3.0" } }, { "benchmark": "practical_capacity", "label": "Capacity of LTO in a NCM/LTO soft-pack cell, cycle 400", "value": 138.5, "bound": "exact", "unit": "mAh/g", "scope": "cell", "conditions": { "rate": "0.5C charge and discharge", "temperature_C": 25, "cell": "soft-pack, Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 cathode, 1 M LiPF6 in EC+DMC+EMC" }, "method": "Specific capacity of the LTO measured in the full cell", "status": "ground", "note": "The same cell type with carbon-coated LTO gave 151.2 mAh/g at cycle 1 and 151.3 mAh/g at cycle 400.", "source": "he-2012", "where": "Results (Figure 1a, 1b)", "source_detail": { "title": "Gassing in Li4Ti5O12-based batteries and its remedy", "id": "Sci. Rep. 2:913, doi 10.1038/srep00913", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/srep00913", "year": 2012, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY-NC-ND 3.0" } }, { "benchmark": "practical_capacity", "label": "Porous nanocrystalline LTO at 10C", "value": 140, "bound": "exact", "unit": "mAh/g", "scope": "material", "conditions": { "rate": "10C discharge", "particles": "porous crystallites 20 to 50 nm, 12 m2/g", "note": "close to 175 mAh/g at C/2 per the same review" }, "method": "Half-cell result reported in a review", "status": "ground", "source": "mauger-2015", "where": "Section 4", "source_detail": { "title": "Nanoscience Supporting the Research on the Negative Electrodes of Li-Ion Batteries (Mauger and Julien, Nanomaterials)", "id": "doi 10.3390/nano5042279", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/nano5042279", "year": 2015, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY 4.0" } }, { "benchmark": "practical_capacity", "label": "Porous nanocrystalline LTO at 100C", "value": 70, "bound": "exact", "unit": "mAh/g", "scope": "material", "conditions": { "rate": "100C discharge", "particles": "porous crystallites 20 to 50 nm, 12 m2/g" }, "method": "Half-cell result reported in a review", "status": "ground", "source": "mauger-2015", "where": "Section 4", "source_detail": { "title": "Nanoscience Supporting the Research on the Negative Electrodes of Li-Ion Batteries (Mauger and Julien, Nanomaterials)", "id": "doi 10.3390/nano5042279", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/nano5042279", "year": 2015, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY 4.0" } }, { "benchmark": "volume_change", "value": 0.2, "bound": "exact", "unit": "%", "scope": "material", "conditions": { "event": "lithium insertion and extraction", "stated_as": "around 0.2%", "attributed_to": "Ohzuku et al. (zero-strain)" }, "method": "Value quoted in a review", "status": "ground", "source": "apostolopoulou-2024", "where": "Section 2", "source_detail": { "title": "Optimization Strategies of Hybrid Lithium Titanate Oxide/Carbon Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries (Nanomaterials)", "id": "doi 10.3390/nano14221799", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14221799", "year": 2024, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY" } }, { "benchmark": "electronic_conductivity", "value": 1e-8, "value_high": 1e-7, "bound": "range", "unit": "S/cm", "scope": "material", "conditions": { "material": "intrinsic Li4Ti5O12", "reason_given": "empty Ti 3d state" }, "method": "Value quoted in the body text of a review", "status": "ground", "note": "The abstract of the same paper states 1e-13 S/cm, so published figures disagree.", "source": "julien-2024", "where": "Section 1", "source_detail": { "title": "Fabrication of Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) as Anode Material for Li-Ion Batteries (Julien, Micromachines)", "id": "doi 10.3390/mi15030310", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15030310", "year": 2024, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY 4.0" } }, { "benchmark": "electronic_conductivity", "label": "Electronic conductivity as given in the abstract", "value": 1e-13, "bound": "exact", "unit": "S/cm", "scope": "material", "conditions": { "material": "Li4Ti5O12", "stated_in": "abstract" }, "method": "Value quoted in the abstract of a review", "status": "ground", "source": "julien-2024", "where": "Abstract", "source_detail": { "title": "Fabrication of Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) as Anode Material for Li-Ion Batteries (Julien, Micromachines)", "id": "doi 10.3390/mi15030310", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15030310", "year": 2024, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY 4.0" } }, { "benchmark": "cycle_life", "label": "LTO//LiFePO4 18650 cell, stable capacity", "value": 20000, "bound": "exact", "unit": "cycles", "scope": "cell", "conditions": { "charge": "10C", "discharge": "5C", "cell": "18650, 800 mAh, nanostructured carbon-coated electrodes, flat 1.85 V" }, "method": "Cycling test reported in a review", "status": "ground", "note": "Section 1 describes carbon-coated electrodes for this cell, while later text in the same paper calls the LTO anode carbon-free; the paper does not reconcile the two.", "source": "julien-2024", "where": "Section 1", "source_detail": { "title": "Fabrication of Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) as Anode Material for Li-Ion Batteries (Julien, Micromachines)", "id": "doi 10.3390/mi15030310", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15030310", "year": 2024, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY 4.0" } }, { "benchmark": "cycle_life", "label": "LTO//LiFePO4 18650 cell, 95% capacity retention", "value": 30000, "bound": "exact", "unit": "cycles", "scope": "cell", "conditions": { "charge": "15C", "discharge": "5C", "retention": "95%", "cell": "18650, 800 mAh" }, "method": "Cycling test reported in a review", "status": "ground", "source": "julien-2024", "where": "Section 1", "source_detail": { "title": "Fabrication of Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) as Anode Material for Li-Ion Batteries (Julien, Micromachines)", "id": "doi 10.3390/mi15030310", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15030310", "year": 2024, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY 4.0" } }, { "benchmark": "cold_capacity", "label": "Discharge capacity of LTO at -40 C relative to room temperature", "value": 55.48, "bound": "exact", "unit": "% of room-temperature capacity", "scope": "material", "conditions": { "temperature_C": -40, "rate": "0.5C", "voltage_window": "1 to 2.5 V vs Li/Li+", "cell": "CR2025 coin half-cell vs lithium, 1 M LiPF6 in EC+EMC+DMC 1:1:1", "capacity_at_minus40_mAh_g": 86 }, "method": "Galvanostatic cycling after 4 h temperature equilibration", "status": "ground", "note": "The binary EC+DMC electrolyte almost failed to charge and discharge below -30 C in the same study, so the electrolyte sets the limit.", "source": "huang-2017", "where": "Low-temperature electrochemical performance", "source_detail": { "title": "Mechanisms of the decrease in low-temperature electrochemical performance of Li4Ti5O12-based anode materials (Huang et al.)", "id": "Sci. Rep. 7:15292, doi 10.1038/s41598-017-15504-4", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-15504-4", "year": 2017, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY 4.0" } }, { "benchmark": "thermal_runaway_onset", "label": "DSC onset, fully lithiated Li4Ti5O12 with electrolyte", "value": 125, "bound": "exact", "unit": "°C", "scope": "material", "conditions": { "material": "electrochemically lithiated Li4Ti5O12 from a Li-metal half-cell, with electrolyte", "test": "differential scanning calorimetry", "note": "onset did not change noticeably with the amount of lithium inserted" }, "method": "DSC", "status": "ground", "note": "Total heat of fully lithiated Li4Ti5O12 was 383 J/g, against 2700 J/g with onset 100 C for fully lithiated graphite (unit printed as \"Jg\" on the page, read as J/g). LTO's advantage here is mainly less heat, not a much later onset.", "source": "belharouak-2007", "where": "Abstract", "source_detail": { "title": "On the safety of the Li4Ti5O12/LiMn2O4 lithium-ion battery system (Belharouak, Sun, Lu, Amine; J. Electrochem. Soc. 154(12) A1083-A1087), abstract page at Oak Ridge National Laboratory", "id": "doi 10.1149/1.2783770", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1149/1.2783770", "year": 2007, "kind": "paper" } }, { "benchmark": "gas_composition_h2", "label": "Hydrogen share of gas from charged NCM/LTO soft-pack cells stored 3 months", "value": 55.65, "bound": "exact", "unit": "wt%", "scope": "cell", "conditions": { "storage": "fully charged, 25 C, 3 months", "electrolyte": "1 M LiPF6 in EC+DMC+EMC", "other_gases": "CO2 30.41 wt%, CO 10.00 wt%" }, "method": "Gas chromatography of gas from the cells", "status": "ground", "source": "he-2012", "where": "Table 2, Condition D", "source_detail": { "title": "Gassing in Li4Ti5O12-based batteries and its remedy", "id": "Sci. Rep. 2:913, doi 10.1038/srep00913", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/srep00913", "year": 2012, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY-NC-ND 3.0" } } ], "corrosion": [ { "environment": "Carbonate electrolyte with LiPF6, stored or cycled", "headline": "LTO reacts with the carbonate solvents and makes gas that swells soft-pack cells.", "effect": "LTO reacts with the carbonate solvents at its surface and makes H2, CO2 and CO, which swell soft-pack cells. The reaction happens in a thin outer layer of the (111) plane, which changes toward anatase TiO2. It occurs even in solvent with no LiPF6.\n", "rating": "severe", "conditions": { "storage": "25 and 50 C, up to 3 months", "cells": "soft-pack NCM/LTO, also 400 cycles at 0.5C and 25 C", "worse_at": "higher temperature (50 C reacts more than 25 C)" }, "source": "he-2012", "where": "Abstract, Results, Table 2" }, { "environment": "Water and PF5 / HF from LiPF6", "headline": "The gas comes from LTO reacting with the solvent, not from water or HF.", "effect": "The paper concludes the gas comes from the interaction of LTO with the solvent rather than from PF5 or water. In electrolyte, HF reacts with LTO to form Li2TiF6 and LiF on the surface.\n", "rating": "unknown", "conditions": { "electrolyte": "1 M LiPF6 in EC+DMC+EMC, 50 C soak" }, "source": "he-2012", "where": "Results, Condition B discussion" }, { "environment": "Deep discharge below about 1 V vs Li/Li+", "headline": "Discharging below about 1 V inserts extra lithium and builds a thick surface film.", "effect": "Taking LTO down to 0.01 V inserts one extra lithium and also reduces electrolyte on the surface to form a thick SEI.", "rating": "moderate", "conditions": { "voltage": "0.01 V vs Li/Li+" }, "source": "julien-2024", "where": "Section 1" }, { "environment": "Normal working window (above 1 V vs Li/Li+)", "headline": "In its normal window above 1 V, no surface film forms on LTO.", "effect": "The reaction at 1.55 V means no SEI is formed at the LTO surface, according to the review, which avoids SEI-related safety problems and allows other electrolytes than ethylene carbonate based ones.", "rating": "low", "conditions": { "voltage": "1.55 V plateau" }, "source": "mauger-2015", "where": "Section 4" }, { "environment": "Water during aqueous electrode processing, with an aluminium current collector", "headline": "Water raises the slurry pH, which corrodes the aluminium current collector.", "effect": "LTO reacts with water, leaching lithium and raising the slurry pH (stabilizing above 11 when LTO is simply exposed to water, per the paper's citation). The high pH causes pitting corrosion of the aluminium current collector with hydrogen evolution, cracked coatings, poor adhesion and higher charge-transfer resistance.\n", "rating": "moderate", "conditions": { "process": "water-based electrode slurry cast on battery-grade aluminium foil", "scope": "manufacturing step, not in-cell use" }, "source": "xu-2022", "where": "Abstract and Introduction" }, { "environment": "Low-temperature carbonate electrolyte", "headline": "In the cold the electrolyte thickens and the capacity falls.", "effect": "At low temperature the electrolyte gets more viscous and less conductive, charge transfer and lithium diffusion in LTO slow down and capacity falls.", "rating": "moderate", "conditions": { "temperature_C": -40, "electrolyte": "EC+EMC+DMC ternary vs EC+DMC binary" }, "source": "huang-2017", "where": "Effect of electrolyte; impedance table" } ], "risks": { "hazards": [ { "text": "MSE Supplies safety data sheet (revision 2020) for lithium titanate anode powder: not a hazardous substance or mixture under OSHA HCS. Fire products are titanium oxides and lithium oxides; incompatible with strong oxidizing agents; many toxicology and physical properties are listed as no data available.\n", "ghs": [], "source": "sds-mse-lto", "where": "Sections 2, 5, 9, 10, 11" }, { "text": "Further processing of the solid may form combustible dusts; consider this before processing.", "ghs": [], "source": "sds-mse-lto", "where": "Section 7.1" } ], "failure_risks": [ { "mode": "Gassing and swelling", "trigger": "Interfacial reaction of LTO with carbonate electrolyte, during storage and cycling, faster at high temperature", "consequence": "Cell swelling; the authors call gassing a grave safety concern and a main obstacle to wide use of LTO batteries.", "severity": "high", "source": "he-2012", "where": "Introduction and Abstract" }, { "mode": "Thermal runaway of LTO/LiMn2O4 18650 cells", "trigger": "Accelerated rate calorimetry test of 18650 cells with Li4Ti5O12 anode and LiMn2O4 cathode", "consequence": "The authors report no thermal runaway, explosion or fire in that test. This is one cathode pairing; other cathodes and abuse modes were not covered.", "severity": "low", "source": "belharouak-2007", "where": "Abstract" }, { "mode": "Poor performance in the cold with the wrong electrolyte", "trigger": "Cycling at or below -30 C with an EC+DMC binary electrolyte", "consequence": "Cells almost failed to charge and discharge below -30 C.", "severity": "moderate", "source": "huang-2017", "where": "Effect of electrolyte" } ], "side_effects": [ { "text": "Gas from LTO surface reactions (H2, CO2, CO) is the main source of swelling in soft-pack batteries.", "affects": "Pouch cells and packs", "source": "he-2012", "where": "Summary" }, { "text": "LTO works about 1.2 V above a carbon anode, which lowers cell voltage and energy density.", "affects": "Cell energy", "source": "mauger-2015", "where": "Section 4" } ], "handling": [ { "text": "Keep the container tightly closed in a dry, well-ventilated place; avoid dust formation.", "source": "sds-mse-lto", "where": "Sections 6.1 and 7.2" } ], "mitigations": [ { "text": "A nanoscale carbon coating (about 5 nm) plus a stable SEI film on LTO stopped visible swelling after 3 months of storage and 400 cycles in the soft-pack cells.", "source": "he-2012", "where": "Results (Figure 1g-j)" }, { "text": "A 2 to 3 nm carbon layer applied by spray granulation of sucrose was reported to give a more stable SEI and suppress gas.", "source": "rsc-adv-lto-2025", "where": "Abstract" }, { "text": "Adding phosphoric acid to the aqueous slurry (tested up to 2.68 wt% of the LTO mass) buffers the pH and suppresses the aluminium corrosion; the corrosion-free electrodes outperformed the acid-free ones.", "source": "xu-2022", "where": "Abstract" }, { "text": "Use of a ternary carbonate electrolyte (EC+EMC+DMC) gave better LTO performance below 0 C than a binary one.", "source": "huang-2017", "where": "Effect of electrolyte" } ] }, "uses": [ { "application": "batteries", "device": "Toshiba SCiB cells (LTO anode)", "example": "Toshiba says SCiB uses lithium titanium oxide in its anode and names mild hybrid and hybrid cars, electric buses, trucks, factory vehicles, grid storage, trains, ships and substations as uses. It does not mention space.", "source": "toshiba-scib", "where": "Article body (28 Apr 2021)" }, { "application": "batteries", "device": "LTO//LiFePO4 18650 cell", "example": "The review reports that this cell type was used in a real car with charge time cut to 5 min using a three-level charger; the car and maker are not named.", "source": "julien-2024", "where": "Section 1" } ], "supply": [ { "subject": "Lithium", "abundance": "World mine production 290,000 t in 2025 (excluding the US, which is withheld), up from 222,000 t in 2024; reserves 37,000,000 t; identified resources about 150 million tons. Batteries were 88% of world lithium end use. Shares below are computed from the USGS table (country production / 290,000).\n", "producers": [ { "country": "Australia", "share_percent": 31.7, "year": 2025 }, { "country": "China", "share_percent": 21.4, "year": 2025 }, { "country": "Chile", "share_percent": 19.3, "year": 2025 }, { "country": "Zimbabwe", "share_percent": 9.7, "year": 2025 }, { "country": "Argentina", "share_percent": 7.9, "year": 2025 } ], "critical_lists": [], "recycling": "USGS: construction of lithium battery recycling plants continued throughout 2025; automotive firms and recyclers partnered.", "substitutes": [ "Possible in batteries, ceramics, greases and glass; for primary battery anodes: calcium, magnesium, mercury, zinc" ], "source": "usgs-lithium-2026", "where": "Lithium, Domestic Production and Use; World Mine Production and Reserves; Substitutes" }, { "subject": "Titanium (sponge metal) and titanium dioxide pigment capacity", "abundance": "2025e world titanium sponge production 370,000 t (rounded), world pigment capacity 9,900,000 t. China 260,000 t of sponge and 6,000,000 t of pigment capacity. LTO is made from a titanium dioxide (anatase) precursor with a lithium compound, so pigment-grade TiO2 supply is the closer link than sponge metal. China's share of pigment capacity is 60.6% (6,000,000 of 9,900,000 t), computed here from the figures above; the producer shares listed below are for sponge metal. Shares computed from the USGS table.\n", "producers": [ { "country": "China", "share_percent": 70.3, "year": 2025 }, { "country": "Japan", "share_percent": 14.3, "year": 2025 }, { "country": "Russia", "share_percent": 6.8, "year": 2025 } ], "critical_lists": [], "recycling": "USGS: scrap data withheld; U.S. produced titanium powder from scrap metal from late 2024.", "substitutes": [ "Aluminum, composites, steel and superalloys compete with titanium metal; calcium carbonate, kaolin and talc compete with TiO2 as pigment" ], "source": "usgs-titanium-2026", "where": "Titanium and Titanium Dioxide, World Sponge Metal Production and Sponge and Pigment Capacity; Substitutes" } ], "media": [ { "file": "/media/lithium/lithium-titanate-1.jpg", "caption": "Toshiba SCiB cells on show at the Tokyo Motor Show 2011.", "shows": "Two prismatic SCiB battery cells; Toshiba describes SCiB as a lithium-ion battery with a lithium titanium oxide (LTO) anode.", "conditions": "Photograph of finished cells at a trade show, not of the material", "alt": "Two blue rectangular battery cells with the Toshiba SCiB logo on a white display table.", "credit": "Qurren (Wikimedia Commons)", "license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Toshiba_SCiB_cell_in_Tokyo_Motor_Show_2011.jpg" }, { "file": "/media/lithium/lithium-titanate-2.jpg", "caption": "Dried nanoparticulate lithium titanate powder.", "shows": "A small heap of white lithium titanate powder on a dark background, as made in the cited study.", "conditions": "Photograph of laboratory-purified powder", "alt": "A small pile of fine white powder on a black surface.", "credit": "Mateusz Odziomek et al., Nature Communications 8, 15636 (2017), via Wikimedia Commons", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lithium_titanate_powder.jpg" }, { "file": "/media/lithium/lithium-titanate-3.jpg", "caption": "Hierarchical lithium titanate: nanoparticles, spherical aggregates and porous secondary particles.", "shows": "TEM images of well-crystallized nanoparticles (a, scale bar 10 nm), a spherical aggregate (b, 20 nm), a sponge-like porous structure (c, 500 nm) and an SEM image of the arranged spheres (d, 1 micrometre), with drawings of each level.", "conditions": "TEM (a to c) and SEM (d); scale bars as given in the figure caption", "alt": "Four-panel figure: electron micrographs of lithium titanate nanoparticles and porous aggregates, interleaved with green drawings of cubes clustering into spheres.", "credit": "Mateusz Odziomek et al., Nature Communications 8, 15636 (2017)", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "source_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15636" } ], "documents": [ { "title": "MSE Supplies safety data sheet, lithium titanate anode powder (revision 2020)", "type": "sds", "url": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0722/7785/files/MSE-Li4Ti5O12_Anode_Powder-SDS.pdf", "year": 2020 }, { "title": "Gassing in Li4Ti5O12-based batteries and its remedy (Scientific Reports 2012)", "type": "paper", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/srep00913", "year": 2012 }, { "title": "Mechanisms of the decrease in low-temperature electrochemical performance of Li4Ti5O12-based anode materials (Scientific Reports 2017)", "type": "paper", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-15504-4", "year": 2017 }, { "title": "Fabrication of Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) as Anode Material for Li-Ion Batteries (Micromachines 2024)", "type": "paper", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15030310", "year": 2024 }, { "title": "USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Lithium", "type": "report", "url": "https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-lithium.pdf", "year": 2026 } ], "gaps": [ "Density of Li4Ti5O12: no source opened.", "Thermal behaviour of LTO beyond one 2007 DSC and ARC study (LTO/LiMn2O4 only): no other sourced data.", "Why aluminium (not copper) can be the LTO current collector, e.g. no lithium-aluminium alloying at LTO potentials: not stated in any text opened. Only the use of aluminium foil in a study is sourced.", "Moisture effects on dry LTO powder in storage: not sourced; only water-based slurry behaviour is.", "Any named spacecraft or satellite using LTO: none found; vendor claims seen but not opened.", "Flight, vacuum, radiation or lunar-cold test of LTO cells: none found.", "Titanium mineral concentrates (ilmenite, rutile) chapter of USGS MCS 2026 was unreachable when attempted.", "Critical minerals list status of lithium and titanium: not read in the sources opened." ], "story": { "why": "Lithium titanate (LTO, Li₄Ti₅O₁₂) is a spinel oxide (cubic, space group Fd-3m) used as a lithium-ion anode. It works at a much higher voltage than graphite, near 1.55 V versus Li/Li⁺, and its structure barely changes size when lithium enters, a property called zero strain. Together these avoid lithium plating and allow very long cycle life, at the cost of lower cell energy. Its known weak point is that it reacts with carbonate electrolytes and generates gas, which swells soft-pack cells.", "uses": [ { "where": "Toshiba SCiB cells", "line": "Toshiba says its SCiB cells use lithium titanium oxide in the anode. It names mild hybrid and hybrid cars, electric buses, trucks, factory vehicles, grid storage, trains, ships and substations as uses. It does not mention space." }, { "where": "A fast-charging car cell", "line": "A review reports that a Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ and LiFePO₄ 18650 cell type was used in a real car with the charge time cut to 5 minutes using a three-level charger. The car and maker are not named." } ], "can_do": [ { "label": "Capacity", "line": "The theoretical specific capacity of the spinel is 175 mAh/g over a voltage window of 2.5 to 1.0 V versus Li/Li⁺. In a soft-pack full cell at a 0.5 C rate and 25 °C, the measured capacity of the LTO was 148.7 mAh/g, and 151.2 mAh/g for carbon-coated LTO. In a half-cell at 10 C discharge, porous crystallites delivered 140 mAh/g, and at 100 C about 70 mAh/g.", "scope": "material", "value": "175 mAh/g in theory" }, { "label": "Voltage", "line": "The flat plateau of the two-phase Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ to Li₇Ti₅O₁₂ reaction sits at 1.55 V versus Li/Li⁺. That is about 1.2 V above a carbon anode, which lowers cell voltage and energy density.", "scope": "material", "value": "1.55 V" }, { "label": "Size change", "line": "Inserting and removing lithium changes the volume by only around 0.2%, which is why the material is called zero strain. Graphite swells by around 10%.", "scope": "material", "value": "About 0.2%" }, { "label": "Cycle life", "line": "An 800 mAh 18650 cell charged at 10C and discharged at 5C completed 20,000 cycles. A similar cell charged at 15C and discharged at 5C retained 95% after 30,000 cycles. These are test results reported in a review.", "scope": "material", "value": "20,000 to 30,000 cycles" }, { "label": "Heat", "line": "Electrochemically lithiated Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ released a total of 383 J/g in differential scanning calorimetry, with onset at 125 °C. The comparison value for fully lithiated graphite is 2,700 J/g, with onset at 100 °C.", "scope": "material", "value": "383 J/g" }, { "label": "In the cold", "line": "In a coin half-cell with a ternary carbonate electrolyte, LTO delivered 55.48% of its room-temperature capacity at -40 °C. The binary EC+DMC electrolyte almost failed to charge and discharge below -30 °C in the same study, so the electrolyte sets the limit.", "scope": "material", "value": "55% at -40 °C" } ], "compare": "Lithium titanate is one of two anodes in this collection, and the other is graphite. It stores less charge per gram, 175 mAh/g in theory against 372 mAh/g for graphite, and it works at a higher voltage, which lowers cell energy. In exchange it avoids lithium plating, barely changes size, and lasts through tens of thousands of cycles in the tests collected here. The table compares lithium titanate with the other anodes in the collection.", "compare_rows": [ { "label": "Practical capacity", "benchmark": "practical_capacity", "scope": "material" }, { "label": "Avg voltage", "benchmark": "avg_voltage", "scope": "material" }, { "label": "Theoretical capacity", "benchmark": "theoretical_capacity", "scope": "material" } ], "handling": [], "good_for": [ "Very long cycle life and fast charging, with no lithium plating and almost no change in size.", "Established in commercial cells and named for vehicles, buses, trains, ships and grid storage by one manufacturer." ], "watch_out": [ "Lower cell energy, because of the high voltage and low capacity per gram.", "Gas generation (hydrogen, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide) swells soft-pack cells. The authors call gassing a grave safety concern and a main obstacle to wide use.", "Poor performance in the cold with the wrong electrolyte." ], "verdict": "LTO is the long-life, fast-charging anode. It gives up cell energy and has to be managed for gas, and in exchange it avoids lithium plating and barely changes size.", "recipe": { "line": "Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ is a spinel oxide. Each formula unit combines four lithium atoms, five titanium atoms and twelve oxygen atoms.", "parts": [ { "name": "Lithium", "symbol": "Li", "role": "The mobile species. Lithium ions enter and leave the spinel as the cell charges and discharges.", "atoms": 4, "atomic_weight": 6.94 }, { "name": "Titanium", "symbol": "Ti", "role": "The redox center. Titanium changes oxidation state as lithium enters, near 1.55 V versus Li/Li⁺.", "atoms": 5, "atomic_weight": 47.867 }, { "name": "Oxygen", "symbol": "O", "role": "Bonds with lithium and titanium to form the spinel framework, which barely changes size as lithium moves.", "atoms": 12, "atomic_weight": 15.999 } ] }, "risk_groups": [ { "title": "For people", "lead": "Lithium titanate powder is not classified as hazardous by the supplier sheet we found, but toxicology data are mostly missing.", "points": [ { "label": "A supplier sheet", "line": "An MSE Supplies safety data sheet (revision 2020) for lithium titanate anode powder says it is not a hazardous substance or mixture under the OSHA hazard communication standard. Many toxicology and physical properties are listed as no data available." }, { "label": "Dust", "line": "Further processing of the solid may form combustible dusts, so this should be considered before processing." }, { "label": "In a fire", "line": "Fire products are titanium oxides and lithium oxides, and the powder is incompatible with strong oxidizing agents." } ], "level": 0, "verdict": "Not classified hazardous" }, { "title": "If a cell overheats", "lead": "The evidence here is limited to one cell pairing and one test.", "points": [ { "label": "A cell with an LTO anode", "line": "In an accelerating-rate calorimetry test of 18650 cells with a Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ anode and a LiMn₂O₄ cathode, the authors report no thermal runaway, explosion or fire. This is one cathode pairing, and other cathodes and abuse modes were not covered." }, { "label": "Heat released", "line": "Fully lithiated Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ released 383 J/g in differential scanning calorimetry, against 2,700 J/g for fully lithiated graphite." }, { "label": "Gassing", "line": "LTO reacts with the carbonate solvents at its surface and makes hydrogen, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, which swell soft-pack cells. In one test the gas from fully charged cells stored for 3 months at 25 °C was 55.65 wt% hydrogen, 30.41 wt% carbon dioxide and 10.00 wt% carbon monoxide. The reaction is faster at high temperature." } ] }, { "title": "Handling and storage", "points": [ { "label": "Storage", "line": "Keep the container tightly closed in a dry, well-ventilated place, and avoid dust formation." }, { "label": "Controlling gas", "line": "A nanoscale carbon coating of about 5 nm, together with a stable surface film on the LTO, stopped visible swelling after 3 months of storage and 400 cycles in soft-pack cells. A 2 to 3 nm carbon layer applied by spray granulation of sucrose was reported to give a more stable film and suppress gas." }, { "label": "Water processing", "line": "LTO reacts with water and raises the slurry pH, which corrodes an aluminium current collector. Adding phosphoric acid to the aqueous slurry, tested up to 2.68 wt% of the LTO mass, buffers the pH and suppresses the corrosion." }, { "label": "In the cold", "line": "A ternary carbonate electrolyte (EC, EMC and DMC) gave better performance below 0 °C than a binary one." } ] } ] }, "updated": "2026-10-16", "review": { "status": "draft", "method": "assistant", "checked_values": 14, "unreachable": 0, "caveats": 4, "note": "Re-read by an AI assistant on 2026-10-16: 14 of 14 benchmark values match their cited source; 0 could not be opened; 0 did not match." }, "sources": { "xu-2022": { "title": "Effect of phosphoric acid as slurry additive on Li4Ti5O12 lithium-ion anodes (Xu et al., Helmholtz Institute Ulm / KIT, Electrochimica Acta)", "id": "doi 10.1016/j.electacta.2022.140970", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2022.140970", "year": 2022, "kind": "paper" }, "belharouak-2007": { "title": "On the safety of the Li4Ti5O12/LiMn2O4 lithium-ion battery system (Belharouak, Sun, Lu, Amine; J. Electrochem. Soc. 154(12) A1083-A1087), abstract page at Oak Ridge National Laboratory", "id": "doi 10.1149/1.2783770", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1149/1.2783770", "year": 2007, "kind": "paper" }, "toshiba-scib": { "title": "Toshiba's Lithium-Ion Batteries, driving the future of a decarbonized society", "url": "https://asia.toshiba.com/highlights/english/toshibas-lithium-ion-batteries-driving-the-future-of-a-decarbonized-society/", "year": 2021, "kind": "web" }, "usgs-lithium-2026": { "title": "Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Lithium", "id": "USGS MCS 2026", "url": "https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-lithium.pdf", "year": 2026, "kind": "report", "license": "public domain" }, "usgs-titanium-2026": { "title": "Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Titanium and Titanium Dioxide", "id": "USGS MCS 2026", "url": "https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-titanium.pdf", "year": 2026, "kind": "report", "license": "public domain" }, "sds-mse-lto": { "title": "MSE Supplies Safety Data Sheet, Lithium titanate Anode Powder, version 2.1", "id": "PO0196, PO0124", "url": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0722/7785/files/MSE-Li4Ti5O12_Anode_Powder-SDS.pdf", "year": 2020, "kind": "datasheet" }, "he-2012": { "title": "Gassing in Li4Ti5O12-based batteries and its remedy", "id": "Sci. Rep. 2:913, doi 10.1038/srep00913", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/srep00913", "year": 2012, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY-NC-ND 3.0" }, "huang-2017": { "title": "Mechanisms of the decrease in low-temperature electrochemical performance of Li4Ti5O12-based anode materials (Huang et al.)", "id": "Sci. Rep. 7:15292, doi 10.1038/s41598-017-15504-4", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-15504-4", "year": 2017, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY 4.0" }, "julien-2024": { "title": "Fabrication of Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) as Anode Material for Li-Ion Batteries (Julien, Micromachines)", "id": "doi 10.3390/mi15030310", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15030310", "year": 2024, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY 4.0" }, "mauger-2015": { "title": "Nanoscience Supporting the Research on the Negative Electrodes of Li-Ion Batteries (Mauger and Julien, Nanomaterials)", "id": "doi 10.3390/nano5042279", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/nano5042279", "year": 2015, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY 4.0" }, "apostolopoulou-2024": { "title": "Optimization Strategies of Hybrid Lithium Titanate Oxide/Carbon Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries (Nanomaterials)", "id": "doi 10.3390/nano14221799", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14221799", "year": 2024, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY" }, "rsc-adv-lto-2025": { "title": "Mitigating interfacial reactions in Li4Ti5O12 anodes through carbon shells synthesized by spray granulation (RSC Advances)", "id": "doi 10.1039/d5ra00150a", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1039/d5ra00150a", "year": 2025, "kind": "paper" } }, "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "url": "https://spacemushroom.com/profiles/lithium-titanate/" }