LiFePO4/C nanocomposites for lithium-ion batteries

LiFePO4, as the most famous member of the family of olivine-type lithium transition metal phosphates, is one of the promising candidates for the cathodes of lithium-ion batteries. However, its battery performance is limited by its low electrical conductivity and slow Li solid-state diffusion. Various methods have been attempted to improve the battery performance of lithium iron phosphate. Among them, compositing the LiFePO4 with carbon nanomaterials seems to be the most promising, as it is facile and efficient. Carbon nanomaterials usually serve as a conductive agent to improve the electrical conductivity while increasing the material porosity in which the solid-state diffusion distances are significantly shortened. Owing to the popularity of various carbonaceous nanomaterials, there is no straightforward line of research for comparing the LiFePO4/C nanocomposites. This review aims to provide a general perspective based on the research achievements reported in the literature. While surveying the research findings reported in the literature, controversial issues are also discussed. The possible contribution of pseudocapacitance as a result of functionalized carbon or LiFePO4 lattice defects is described, since from a practical perspective, a LiFePO4/C electrode can be considered as a supercapacitor at high C rates (with a specific capacitance as large as 200 F g−1). The Li diffusion in LiFePO4 has not been well understood yet; while the Li diffusion within the LiFePO4 lattice seems to be quite fast, the peculiar interfacial electrochemistry of LiFePO4 slows down the diffusion within the entire electrode by a few orders of magnitude.