Structure and electrochemical performance of FeF3/V2O5 composite cathode material for lithium-ion battery

Orthorhombic structure FeF3 was synthesized by a liquid-phase method using FeCl3, NaOH and HF solution as starting materials, and the FeF3/V2O5 composites were prepared by milling the mixture of as-prepared FeF3 and the conductive V2O5 powder. The properties of FeF3/V2O5 composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), galvanostatic charge/discharge and cyclic voltammetry measurements. Results showed that the FeF3/V2O5 composites can be used as cathode material for lithium-ion battery. Electrochemical measurements in a voltage range of 2.0–4.5 V reveal that the addition of conductive V2O5 improves significantly the electrochemical performance of FeF3, and the FeF3/V2O5 composite prepared by milling for 3 h exhibits high discharge capacity and good cycle performance, and its discharge capacity maintains about 209 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C (23.7 mA g−1) after 30 cycles.