Synthesis and electrochemical properties of Li3V2(PO4)3/C with one-dimensional (1D) nanorod structure for cathode materials of lithium-ion batteries

A series of Li3V2(PO4)3/C cathode materials with different morphologies were successfully prepared by controlling temperatures using maleic acid as carbon source via a simple sol–gel reaction method. The Li3V2(PO4)3/C nanorods synthesized at 700 °C with diameters of about 30–50 nm and lengths of about 800 nm show the highest initial discharge capacity of 179.8 and 154.6 mA h g−1 between 3.0 and 4.8 V at 0.1 and 0.5 C, respectively. Even at a discharge rate of 0.5 C over 50 cycles, the products still can deliver a discharge capacity of 140.2 mA h g−1 in the potential region of 3.0–4.8 V. The excellent electrochemical performance can be attributed to one-dimensional nanorod structure and uniform particle size distribution. All these results indicate that the resulting Li3V2(PO4)3/C is a very strong candidate to be a cathode in a next-generation Li-ion battery for electric-vehicle applications.

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► Maleic acid was used as carbon source.
► Different morphologies of materials were obtained via controlling temperatures.
► The nanorods synthesized at 700 °C exhibit the highest performance.
► The excellent performance can be attributed to one-dimensional nanorod structure.