Mesoporous LiFeBO3/C hollow spheres for improved stability lithium-ion battery cathodes

•Mesoporous LiFeBO3/C hollow spheres are prepared by a template method.•Two LFB/C electrodes with different carbon contents are prepared and tested.•Lithium-ion diffusion coefficient in LFB/C is calculated by EIS.•The LFB/C-1 electrode shows superior electrochemical performances.•The LFB/C-1 electrode demonstrates good structural stability upon storage.

Polyanionic compounds are regarded as one of the most promising cathode materials for the next generation lithium-ion batteries due to their abundant resource and thermal stability. LiFeBO3 has a relatively higher capacity than olivine LiFePO4, however, moisture sensitivity and low conductivity hinder its further development. Here, we design and synthesize mesoporous LiFeBO3/C (LFB/C) hollow spheres to enhance its structural stability and electric conductivity, two LiFeBO3/C electrodes with different carbon content are prepared and tested. The experimental results show that mesoporous LiFeBO3/C hollow spheres with higher carbon content exhibit superior lithium storage capacity, cycling stability and rate capability. Particularly, the LFB/C electrode with higher carbon content demonstrates good structural stability, which can maintain its original crystal structure and Li storage properties even after three months of air exposure at room temperature. The exceptional structural stability and electrochemical performance may justify their potential use as high-performance cathode materials for advanced lithium-ion batteries. In addition, the synthesis strategy demonstrated herein is simple and versatile for the fabrication of other polyanionic cathode materials with mesoporous hollow spherical structure.

Graphical abstractMesoporous LiFeBO3/C hollow spheres were prepared by a soft-template method. The resultant LiFeBO3/C composites deliver an initial reversible capacity of 190 mA h g−1 with capacity retention of 77% after 100 cycles, superior rate capability up to 8C is also presented. Further, the crystal structure and Li storage properties can be still maintained even after three months' store under ambient condition.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide