In situ catalytic synthesis of high-graphitized carbon-coated LiFePO4 nanoplates for superior Li-ion battery cathodes.

The low electronic conductivity and one-dimensional diffusion channel along the b axis for Li ions are two major obstacles to achieving high power density of LiFePO4 material. Coating carbon with excellent conductivity on the tailored LiFePO4 nanoparticles therefore plays an important role for efficient charge and mass transport within this material. We report here the in situ catalytic synthesis of high-graphitized carbon-coated LiFePO4 nanoplates with highly oriented (010) facets by introducing ferrocene as a catalyst during thermal treatment. The as-obtained material exhibits superior performances for Li-ion batteries at high rate (100 C) and low temperature (-20 °C), mainly because of fast electron transport through the graphitic carbon layer and efficient Li(+)-ion diffusion through the thin nanoplates.