A carbothermal reduction method for enhancing the electrochemical performance of LiFePO4/C composite cathode materials

LiFePO4/C composite cathode material has been synthesized by a carbothermal reduction method using beta-FeOOH nanorods as raw materials and glucose as both reducing agent and carbon source. The results indicate that the content of carbon and the morphology of raw material have effect on the electrochemical performance of the final LiFePO4/C material. Sample LFP14 with a carbon content of 2.79 wt.% can deliver discharge capacities of 158.8, 144.3, 111.0, and 92.9 mAh g(-1) at 0.1, 1, 10, and 15 C, respectively. When decreasing the current from 15 C back to 0.1 C, a discharge capacity of 157.5 mAh g(-1) is recovered, which is 99.2 % of its initial capacity. Therefore, as a kind of cathode material for lithium ion batteries, this LiFePO4/C material synthesized via a carbothermal reduction method is promising in large-scale production, and has potential application in upcoming hybrid electric vehicles or electric vehicles.