Sucrose-assisted loading of LiFePO4 nanoparticles on graphene for high-performance lithium-ion battery cathodes

A simple approach for loading LiFePO4 (LFP) nanoparticles on graphene (G) that could assemble amorphous LiFePO4 nanoparticles into a stable, crystalline, graphene-modified layered materials (G-S-LFP, S=sucrose) by using graphene as building block and sucrose as a linker has yet to be developed. On the basis of differential scanning calorimetric and transmission electron microscopy analysis of the samples from controlled experiment, a possible mechanism was proposed to explain the "linker" process of LFP and graphene with sucrose as the linker. The electrochemical properties of the samples as cathode material for lithium-ion batteries were studied by cyclic voltammogrametry and galvanostatic methods. Results showed that G-S-LFP displayed superior lithium-storage capability with current density changes randomly form 0.5 to 10 C. The significant improvement for rate and cycle performance could be attributed to the high conductivity of the graphene host, the high crystallinity, and the layered structure.