Modified carbothermal reduction method for synthesis of LiFePO4/C composite

With LiAc·2H2O as Li precursor, pure olivine phase LiFePO4/C was synthesized at a relatively low temperature (650 °C) and short sintering period (4 h) by molten salt carbothermal reduction method. Scanning electron micrograph shows that particle size of the product is about 1μm, smaller than that of the sample synthesized with Li2CO3 as Li precursor. Electrochemical measurements prove that LiFePO4/C obtained from LiAc·2H2O shows high capacity. The initial discharge capacities are 148 mA·h/g at 0.5C rate and 115 mA·h/g at 5C rate, respectively. After 50 cycles, the capacity retention ratios are 93% and 89% at 0.5C rate and 5C rate, respectively.