In-Situ Synthesis of LiFePO4/Carbon Cauliflower-Like by Hydrothermal Reaction for Using in Lithium Ion Batteries

The active cauliflower-like LiFePO4 (LFP/Cin) material was synthesized with hydrothermal process in the presence of glucose and then calcined at 600 °C. The physical properties, particle size and morphology of obtained samples were investigated with the Xray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). The electrochemical performance of nano-composites was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and galvanostatic cycling performance. The CV curves show that LFP/Cin has higher electrochemical reactivity for lithium insertion and extraction than the LFP conventional cathode material. EIS measurements demonstrated that Rct for LFP/Cin is 70 and 50 percent lower compared to LFP and LFP/Cex respectively. The initial discharge capacity of LiFePO4/Cin cathode material delivers about 133.92 mAh g−1 (82% of theoretical capacity) at 0.1 C and cycling stability with 96.3% of capacity retention after 40 cycles at 0.1 C. Electrochemical tests demonstrate that in-situ carbon coating play an important role in the improvement of battery performance with increasing the conductivity, reduce the particles size and unique structure.