Unique synthesis of sandwiched graphene@(Li0.893Fe0.036)Co(PO4) nanoparticles as high-performance cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

In this report, a novel method towards synthesis of two-layer sandwiched graphene@(Li_0.893Fe_0.036)Co(PO₄) nanoparticles (SG@LFCPO) has been presented. In the approach, the sheet-like precursor, as the sacrificial template, and glucose molecules, as the carbon source, are the key factors involved in forming the specific morphology in which both top and bottom graphene sheets tightly envelop the (Li_0.893Fe_0.036)Co(PO₄) nanoparticles, just like a sandwich. Owing to the combination of various favorable conditions, such as Fe doping, graphene coating and morphology design, the as-prepared SG@LFCPO displays very promising performance in terms of rate performance (discharge capacity of 85 mA h g⁻¹ at 20 C), cyclability (coulombic efficiency of around 92.6%), stability (capacity retention of 94.6% after 100 cycles) and fast kinetics.