Homogeneous precipitation synthesis and electrochemical performance of LiFePO4/CNTs/C composites as advanced cathode materials for lithium ion batteries

Abstract

In this study, a series of LiFePO₄/CNTs/C composite cathode materials for Li-ion batteries were synthesized by a simple homogeneous precipitation and subsequent annealing process. The investigation of the influence of CNTs on the structural and electrochemical characteristics of the LiFePO₄/CNTs/C composites shows that the resulting composite materials exhibit smaller particle size, lower electron-transfer resistance, and faster lithium ion migration, which contribute to improve lithium ion transfer due to the incorporated CNTs. At 1C, the LiFePO₄/CNTs/C composite delivers a stable specific capacity of ∼126 mA h g⁻¹ after 500 cycles. At high rates (e.g. 10C), the CNT-incorporated composite is still able to deliver stable capacities of up to ∼119 mA h g⁻¹, which is ∼42% greater than its pristine counterpart.