Fast microwave synthesis of hybrid graphite-amorphous carbon encapsulated Li3V2(PO4)3 as cathode for lithium ion batteries

Abstract

Abstract In this article, carbon encapsulated Li 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 cathode materials were successfully synthesized via a fast microwave heating method, using domestic microwave oven as reaction device, activated carbon as microwave absorbing agent and starch as carbon precursor. We aimed to use this facile and fast method to shorten the preparation time for Li 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 /C material but maintain its high-rate capability as cathode in lithium ion batteries. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) were used to characterize crystal structure and morphology of the material. Results show that the Li 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 encapsulated by hybrid graphite-amorphous carbon possesses pure crystal structure, relatively uniform particles and excellent specific capacities. When cycled at 0.5 C charge/discharge rate, the composite possesses 131.1 mAh g −1 of discharge capacity and still maintains excellent capacity retention (≈100%) over 250 cycles at 20C rate, implying it is a feasible strategy for preparing high-performance Li 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 cathode for lithium ion batteries.