Effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes diameter in electrochemical activity of lithium iron phosphate

Abstract

Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) is an attractive conductive carbon material for lithium-ion batteries (LIB). However, without a comprehensive understanding of the link between MWCNT diameter and polarization in an active material, it remains challenging to use MWCNT in high energy density batteries. Herein, we report a comparative cyclic voltammetry (CV) study of MWCNT with different diameters for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) electrochemical activity. The discrete smaller outer diameter MWCNT (<8 nm) significantly decreases the polarization and increases LFP electrochemical activity. Our study presents a simple and straightforward method to choose MWCNT for LIB.