Solvothermal synthesis of LiFePO4/C nanopolyhedrons and microellipsoids and their performance in lithium-ion batteries

LiFePO4 nanopolyhedrons with the size of -200 nm have been solvothermally synthesized in the binary solvent of benzyl alcohol and ethylene glycol. As citric acid added, microellipsoids with an average size of 1 mu m were formed. LiFePO4 nanopolyhedrons and microellipsoids were coated by carbon layers using cellulose acetate as carbon source. Electrochemical measurements showed that the LiFePO4/C nanopolyhedrons could deliver a discharge capacity of 145 mAh g(-1) under 1 C and had a capacity decay rate of <11% after 200 cycles, while the LiFePO4/C microellipsoids had a discharge capacity of 123 mAh g(-1) under 1 C and the capacity decay rate was less than 8% after 200 cycles. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.