•Lithium zinc titanate was prepared through three different methods.•Sol–gel formed lithium zinc titanate exhibits the best long cycle performance.•Electrochemical properties were tested in a charge/discharge voltage range of 0.05–3.0 V (vs. Li/Li+).Cubic spinel Li2ZnTi3O8 is a promising lithium ion battery electrode anode material with high specific lithium-intercalation capacity and low discharge voltage platform. Herein, Li2ZnTi3O8 anode materials are synthesized through solid state reaction, molten salt route, and sol–gel method, respectively. Sol–gel formed Li2ZnTi3O8 exhibits good crystallinity from XRD and agglomeration is alleviated with uniform particle size and more stack holes from SEM images compared with other methods. Cyclic voltammograms (CV) results show that the sol–gel formed Li2ZnTi3O8 electrode has the lowest polarization, indicating better kinetic process. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) reveals that the sol–gel formed Li2ZnTi3O8 sample exhibits highest electronic conductivity and faster lithium ion diffusivity in all three samples. The sol–gel formed Li2ZnTi3O8 electrode has excellent long-term cycling performance and high discharge capacities of 71.2, 90.9, and 150.0 mAh g− 1 after 1000 charge–discharge cycles with low capacity fadings of only 0.058%, 0.051%, and 0.028% per cycle, at 3000, 2000, and 1000 mA g− 1, respectively. These results show that sol–gel formed Li2ZnTi3O8 is a promising anode electrode material for high performance lithium ion batteries.

•Nano layer La2O3 coated Li2ZnTi3O8 particles have been prepared via a suspension mixing process followed by heat treatment.•Coated Li2ZnTi3O8 has enhanced high rate capability, cyclic stability and long lifespan performance.•Electrochemical properties were tested in a charge/discharge voltage range of 3.0–0.05 V (vs. Li/Li+).Lithium zinc titanate (Li2ZnTi3O8) is an important titanium material of promising candidates for anode materials with superior electrochemical performance and thus has attracted extensive attention. Herein, high capacity, stable Li2ZnTi3O8/La2O3 nanocomposite for lithium-ion battery anode is prepared by a facile strategy. Compared to unmodified Li2ZnTi3O8, the Li2ZnTi3O8/La2O3 electrode display a high specific capacity of 188.6 mAh g−1 and remain as high as 147.7 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 2.0 A g−1. Moreover, a reversible capacity of 76.3 mAh g−1 can be obtained after 1000 cycles at 2.0 A g−1 and the retention is 42.7% for Li2ZnTi3O8/La2O3, which is much higher than un-coated Li2ZnTi3O8. The superior lithium storage performances of the Li2ZnTi3O8/La2O3 can be ascribed to the stable layer of protection, small particle size and large surface area. Cyclic voltammograms result reveals that the La2O3 coating layer reduces the polarization and improves the electrochemical activity of anode.

•Physical properties of chitosan oligosaccharides binder are researched.•Electrodes with COS and PVDF binder systems are fabricated to compare physical and electrochemical properties.•Li2ZnTi3O8 electrode with COS binder system shows improved electrochemical performance.Chitosan oligosaccharides (COS) as a new, environmentally and water-based organic compound, is firstly applied as the electrode binder for Li2ZnTi3O8 electrode in lithium-ion batteries. Compared with conventional polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) binder, the COS binder is used for Li2ZnTi3O8 electrode significantly improves the electrochemical performances in terms of the first Columbic efficiency, cycling behavior, rate capability and long life cycle. At 0.1 A g−1, the initial discharge capacity of 215.6 mAh g−1 can be obtained for Li2ZnTi3O8 with COS binder system and the Columbic efficiency is as high as 93.6%, which are apparently better than PVDF binder system. Moreover, 66.1 mAh g−1 can be remained after 1000 cycles and the retention is 33.6% for COS binder system, while the PVDF binder system has only 37.9 mAh g−1 (22.8%). In addition, the cycling stability of Li2ZnTi3O8 electrode has been improved after using COS as binder. The elevated electrochemical performances of Li2ZnTi3O8 electrode with COS binder system can be ascribed to the characters of COS binder, which not only provide numerous hydroxyl groups formed strong hydrogen binds with both active materials and copper current collector, but also suppress swelling of electrode with electrolyte solution.

•Synthesis of carbon coated Li2ZnTi3O8 composites via one step solid state process.•Amorphous carbon layer enhances the electronic conductivity.•Li2ZnTi3O8/C with 10 wt.% alginic acid exhibits obvious high rate capability.Carbon-coated Li2ZnTi3O8 composites with nano particle size and excellent rate performance are synthesized via a facile solid-state reaction route using alginic acid as carbon precursor. The results of characterization indicate that amorphous carbon layer is homogeneously coated on the surface of Li2ZnTi3O8 particles without any crystal structure change. The carbon-coated Li2ZnTi3O8 composite with 10 wt.% alginic acid (Li2ZnTi3O8/C-10) shows the largest initial discharge specific capacity of 242.5, 190.0, 165.2 and 91.2 mA h g−1 can be obtained after 100 cycles at 0.1, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 A g−1, respectively. EIS reveals that Li2ZnTi3O8/C-10 exhibits higher electronic conductivity and faster lithium ion diffusivity. The significant improvements of electrochemical performance are attributed to the carbon layer on the outer surface of Li2ZnTi3O8 active particles, which can restrain the growth of particles, enhance electronic conductivity and suppress electrolyte decomposition.

•Synthesis of LiCoO2 coated Li2ZnTi3O8 via a wet chemical process followed by heat treatment.•The high rate capability and cyclic stability are improved due to the LiCoO2 surface coating.•Electrochemical properties were tested in a charge/discharge voltage range of 0.05-3.0 V (vs. Li/Li+).LiCoO2 coated Li2ZnTi3O8 is synthesized by a preliminary formation of Li2ZnTi3O8 by facile solid state reaction and a following coating process with LiCoO2 nano layer via a wet chemical process followed by heat treatment. The structure and electrochemical property of the as-prepared samples have been characterized comprehensively. A thin LiCoO2 layer with a thickness of about 2 nm is uniformly coated on the surface of active particles, which does not affect the crystal structure and space group. After LiCoO2 surface modification, high discharge capacities of 192.1, 163.7, 108.2 mAh g−1 with capacity retention of 99.1, 92.3, 71.4% are obtained at 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 A g−1 after 100 cycles for the coated composite, respectively, which are obviously larger than those of un-coated sample. Besides, the discharge capacity and cyclic stability of Li2ZnTi3O8 after 1000 cycles have been enhanced after coating. Cyclic voltammograms and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements prove that the LiCoO2 coating can dramatically decrease polarization and reduce the charge transfer resistance during repeated Li+ intercalation/de-intercalation process. The improved electrochemical properties of LiCoO2 coated Li2ZnTi3O8 are attributed to small particle sizes, large packed holes, high surface area and better electronic conductive.

•Synthesis of Al doped lithium zinc titanate by a facile solid-state reaction method.•Electrochemical properties were tested in a charge/discharge voltage range of 0.05–3.0 V (vs. Li/Li+).•Al (x = 0.1) doped lithium zinc titanate had excellent high rate capability and cycling stability.Al-doped Li2ZnTi3O8 in the form of Li2ZnTi3−xAlxO8 (0 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.2) compounds are successfully synthesized by a simple and facile high temperature solid-phase reaction. The characteristics of Li2ZnTi3−xAlxO8 are examined by X-ray diffraction, scanning electronic microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and laser particle size analyzer, while the electrochemical performances including galvanostatic charge–discharge testing, cyclic voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were also investigated. It is shown from the structure analysis that Li2ZnTi3−xAlxO8 (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1) has the pure phase structure, but impurity peak of LiAlO2 can be detected when x > 0.1. In the voltage range of 0.05–3.0 V, Li2ZnTi2.9Al0.1O8 electrode presents the largest initial discharge capacity of 223.1 mA h g−1 at 0.1 A g−1. Moreover, the discharge capacities of Li2ZnTi2.9Al0.1O8 after 100 cycles are 173.2, 136.7, 108.6, and 61.4 mA h g−1 at 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 A g−1, respectively, which obviously higher than those of un-doped sample. The electrode reaction reversibility and electronic conductivity of pure Li2ZnTi3O8 are enhanced after doping Al (x = 0.1). The results revealed that doping Al should be an effective way to improve the cycling performance.