Carbon-coated LiFePO4–porous carbon composites as cathode materials for lithium ion batteries

This work introduces a facile strategy for the synthesis of carbon-coated LiFePO4–porous carbon (C-LiFePO4–PC) composites as a cathode material for lithium ion batteries. The LiFePO4 particles obtained are about 200 nm in size and homogeneously dispersed in porous carbon matrix. These particles are further coated with the carbon layers pyrolyzed from sucrose. The C-LiFePO4–PC composites display a high initial discharge capacity of 152.3 mA h g−1 at 0.1 C, good cycling stability, as well as excellent rate capability (112 mA h g−1 at 5 C). The likely contributing factors to the excellent electrochemical performance of the C-LiFePO4–PC composites could be related to the combined effects of enhancement of conductivity by the porous carbon matrix and the carbon coating layers. It is believed that further carbon coating is a facile and effective way to improve the electrochemical performance of LiFePO4–PC.