Solvothermal Synthesis of a Hollow Micro-Sphere LiFePO4/C Composite with a Porous Interior Structure as a Cathode Material for Lithium Ion Batteries

To overcome the low lithium ion diffusion and slow electron transfer, a hollow micro sphere LiFePO₄/C cathode material with a porous interior structure was synthesized via a solvothermal method by using ethylene glycol (EG) as the solvent medium and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as the surfactant. In this strategy, the EG solvent inhibits the growth of the crystals and the CTAB surfactant boots the self-assembly of the primary nanoparticles to form hollow spheres. The resultant carbon-coat LiFePO₄/C hollow micro-spheres have a ~300 nm thick shell/wall consisting of aggregated nanoparticles and a porous interior. When used as materials for lithium-ion batteries, the hollow micro spherical LiFePO₄/C composite exhibits superior discharge capacity (163 mAh g-1 at 0.1 C), good high-rate discharge capacity (118 mAh g-1 at 10 C), and fine cycling stability (99.2% after 200 cycles at 0.1 C). The good electrochemical performances are attributed to a high rate of ionic/electronic conduction and the high structural stability arising from the nanosized primary particles and the micro-sized hollow spherical structure.