Performance enhancement of Lithium-ion battery with LiFePO4@C/RGO hybrid electrode

We present a new olivine LiFePO4(LFP)@C/reduced graphene oxide(RGO) nanocomposite synthesized by a solvothermal method. In this hybrid nanocomposite, the cooperation of the LiFePO4 with a carbon coating and the reduction of the graphene oxide has been tuned to produce an effective three-dimensional (3D) conductive network. Compared with conventional LFP@C nanocomposites, the experimental results of LFP@C/RGO nanocomposites show their outstanding electrochemical performance with higher rate capability and better cycability. In particularly, no obvious capacity fading after 200 cycles at a current of 10 degrees C is observed and a discharge capacity of 119 mAh/g can be still delivered at 20 degrees C, pointing out that the electronic conductivity of electrode particles also contribute to achieve a high-rate performance. This study may play a key role in large power sources when applied in industrial productions, such as electric vehicles. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.