Reducing Carbon in LiFePO[sub 4]/C Composite Electrodes to Maximize Specific Energy, Volumetric Energy, and Tap Density

Efforts were made to synthesize composites showing good rate capability and high energy density while attempting to minimize the amount of carbon in the composite. First, three carbon-coated samples, one coated with carbon after the synthesis of pure one synthesized with sugar added before the heating steps, and one synthesized with sugar added before heating and subsequently coated with carbon, were studied. The resulting carbon contents for these samples are 2.7, 3.5, and 6.2 wt %, respectively. Electrochemical tests showed that the latter two samples had comparable rate capabilities to the composite (15 wt % carbon) recently reported by Huang et al. We believe the synthesis of with sugar added before…

• DU
  Dalhousie University
• NS
  Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada