Control of Flame Spray Pyrolysis synthesis of Li4Ti5O12: Experimental and Computational study

Lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12, LTO) is a promising anode material for the next generation of lithium ion batteries. Its physical properties and morphology (which consequently affect its electrochemical performance) highly depend on its synthesis method. Flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) is an attractive process for the controlled one-step synthesis of functional multicomponent oxides from low cost precursors. The main aim of this study is to control the growth process of LTO by FSP in order to maintain the desired particle properties. LTO nanoparticles of different sizes are synthesized by variation of the FSP processing conditions and characterized accordingly. Numerical simulations based on Population Balance Models are also implemented in order to investigate the evolution of primary and agglomerate particle growth