Effect of excess lithium on sintering behaviour of lithium-titanate pebbles: Modifications of microstructure and pore morphology.

Lithium titanate ( Li 2 TiO 3 ) was synthesized; without and with excess lithium (Li) in quantity of its stoichiometric requirement, with 5, 10, 15 and 20% excess and pebbles were fabricated by Solid State Reaction Process (SSRP). The green pebbles were sintered at 900 °C for 6 h . XRD analysis of the synthesized powders, confirmed the formation of single phase Li 2 TiO 3 , when 0–10% excess of lithium; compared to the stoichiometric requirement; were used and the presence of multiple phases when more than 10% excess lithium were used. Morphological modifications of mesoscopic structure in Li 2 TiO 3 pebbles with different quantities of excess lithium were investigated using Ultra-Small Angle Neutron Scattering (USANS) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). USANS measurements reveal the presence of sub-micrometric pores of size about 750 nm. From the experiments it was observed that addition of 10% of excess Li in Li 2 TiO 3 is the optimum for the Li 2 TiO 3 pebbles, in which all the desired properties remain within desired limit, without any compromise of properties of Li 2 TiO 3 pebbles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]