Synthesis of bowl-like mesoporous LiFePO4/C composites as cathode materials for lithium ion batteries

• DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2013.12.045
• Publication Date: 2013-12-24T14:15:39Z
• Authors: Yi-Ju Lv; Yun-Fei Long; Jing Su; Xiao-Yan Lv; Yan-Xuan Wen
• Keywords: 7. Clean energy; 01 natural sciences; 0104 chemical sciences

Abstract Mesoporous bowl-like LiFePO 4 /C composites were synthesized by a wet milling-spray drying-carbothermal reduction (WSC) using starch as the organic carbon source and reductive agent. The samples were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, cyclic voltammograms (CV), electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) and galvanostatic charge–discharge testing. Most of the mesoporous bowl-like LiFePO 4 /C composites with particle size in the range 5–10 μm, coated with evenly distributed carbon, were assembled by nanoparticles ( 2 g −1 . These delivered a discharge capability of 123 mAh g −1 at 10 C, with no capacity loss after 100 cycles. The enhanced electrochemical performance was mainly ascribed to the improved ionic/electronic conductivity and structural stability arising from the interconnected mesoporous pores, carbon-coated nanoparticles and micro-sized structure.