LiFePO4@C cathode materials synthesized from FePO4@PAn composites

Carbon coated LiFePO4 cathode materials were successfully synthesized by heating the precursors of FePO4@PAn (polyaniline) and equimolar LiOH·H2O under Ar flow. We demonstrated a method that could precisely control the carbon shell in a single reaction step. The precursors of FePO4@PAn were prepared by in situ polymerization of aniline and precipitation of FePO4 in one pot in the presence of hydrogen peroxide as oxidizer. In the obtained core–shell cathode composite, the LiFePO4 core phase was crystalline while the carbon shell had the thickness of several nanometers. The optimized cathode material exhibited satisfactory rate and cycle performance, which virtues are quite suitable for power lithium ion batteries.

► A simple method to prepare core–shell nano-LiFePO4@C was introduced.
► The carbon shell could be precisely controlled in a single reaction step.
► The optimized LiFePO4@C demonstrated satisfactory rate and cycle performance.