Porous C-LiFePO4-C composite microspheres with a hierarchical conductive architecture as a high performance cathode for lithium ion batteries

Tri-layer composite microspheres consisting of a carbon shell, a porous LiFePO4 layer and a carbon core with a hierarchical conductive structure are synthesized as cathode materials for Li ion batteries. The electrodes made from the core-shell microspheres deliver remarkable specific capacities of 160.0, 121.0, 101.5, 77.0 and 59.7 mA h g(-1) at 1C, 10C, 20C, 30C and 40C, respectively.