Influences of neodymium doping on magnetic and electrochemical properties of Li3V2(PO4)3/C synthesized via a sol–gel method

• Nd doped Li3V2(PO4)3/C samples were synthesized via simple sol–gel routine.
• Magnetic properties of Li3V2(PO4)3/C were significantly changed by Nd doping.
• Li3V1.95Nd0.05(PO4)3/C showed better electrochemical properties than undoped one.

A series of neodymium doped Li3V2−xNdx(PO4)3/C cathode materials have been successfully synthesized by a citric acid assisted sol–gel method. Nd doped samples (x ≤ 0.10) have well developed monoclinic structure of Li3V2(PO4)3 with enlarged unit cell volume. All samples present typical characteristics of paramagnetism in 4 < T ≤ 300 K, but the magnetic susceptibilities of Nd doped samples increase with Nd content (except for x = 0.15). Nd doped composites show better electrochemical property than that of the undoped one. Among them, the Li3V1.95Nd0.05(PO4)3/C displays the highest capacity and best cycle stability. The Li3V1.95Nd0.05(PO4)3/C presents the first discharge capacity of 129.2 mAh g−1 at 1 C rate in the voltage range of 3.0–4.3 V, 21.7% higher than that of Li3V2(PO4)3/C. And no capacity loss occurs after 100 cycles. The high structural stability, low charge-transfer resistance and rapid Li+ diffusion due to the presence of Nd3+ are mainly responsible for the superior electrochemical performance of Nd doped Li3V2(PO4)3/C cathode materials.