A facile method of preparing mixed conducting LiFePO4/graphene composites for lithium-ion batteries

In this work, mixed (electron and ion) conducting LiFePO4/graphene composites have been prepared through a facile hydrothermal route followed by heat treatment. It was found that the LiFePO4 particles adhered to the surface of graphene and/or embedded in the graphene nanosheets. As a result, an effective three-dimensional conducting network was formed by bridging graphene nanosheets, which can facilitate electron transport effectively and thus improve the kinetics and rate performance of LiFePO4. The LiFePO4/graphene (92:8 wt.) composites exhibited a discharge capacity of 160.3 mAh g− 1 at 0.1 C and 81.5 mAh g− 1 at 10 C, respectively. The comparative investigation on LiFePO4/graphene composites and LiFePO4 proved that establishing a mixed conducting network with graphene has a potential to enhance the specific capacity and rate capability of LiFePO4.

Research Highlights
► Mixed conducting LiFePO4/graphene networks were built through a facile method.
► The kinetics of the LiFePO4 was highly improved by graphene addition.
► The LiFePO4/graphene composites exhibited excellent rate performance.