A novel lithium vanadium fluorophosphate nanosheet with uniform carbon coating as a cathode material for lithium-ion batteries

• High-purity LiVPO4F nanosheets were prepared for the first time.
• Each LiVPO4F nanosheet had a typical thickness of 50–100 nm.
• Each LiVPO4F nanosheet had a uniform carbon coating.
• LiVPO4F nanosheets deliver an excellent electrochemical performance.

Lithium vanadium fluorophosphate (LiVPO4F/C) nanosheets with uniform carbon coating are successfully synthesized using a hydrothermal method followed by calcination. X-ray diffraction results reveal that the obtained products crystallized in the triclinic LiVPO4F phase. Scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope images demonstrate that both vanadium phosphate (VPO4/C) and LiVPO4F/C composites have a very flat sheet-like morphology, with each nanosheet exhibiting a smooth surface and a typical thickness of 50–100 nm. The nanosheets are coated by a uniform layer of amorphous carbon. Electrochemical tests show that LiVPO4F nanosheets deliver a discharge capacity of 143 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C in the range of 3.0–4.5 V at the first cycle and possess a favorable capacity at rates of 0.5, 1, 2, 3 and 5 C.