Mesoporous Li2FeSiO4@ordered mesoporous carbon composites cathode material for lithium-ion batteries

The mesoporous Li2FeSiO4@ordered mesoporous carbon (CMK-3) has been firstly synthesized by a sol–gel method. The structural properties of the samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption–desorption. The composite is then evaluated as a cathode material for lithium ion batteries. It exhibits greatly improved electrochemical performance compared with bulk Li2FeSiO4 and shows an excellent rate capability (160, 148, 129, 110, 90, 66 and 50 mAh g−1 at 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5 and 10 C, respectively) with significantly enhanced cycling performance. The greatly enhanced lithium storage properties of the Li2FeSiO4@CMK-3 composites may be attributed to the interpenetrating conductive carbon network, ordered mesoporous structure, and small uniform Li2FeSiO4 nanocrystallites that increase the ionic and electronic conduction throughout the electrode.