Surfactant‐Mediated and Morphology‐Controlled Nanostructured LiFePO(4)/Carbon Composite as a Promising Cathode Material for Li‐Ion Batteries

The synthesis of morphology‐controlled carbon‐coated nanostructured LiFePO(4) (LFP/Carbon) cathode materials by surfactant‐assisted hydrothermal method using block copolymers is reported. The resulting nanocrystalline high surface area materials were coated with carbon and designated as LFP/C123 and LFP/C311. All the materials were systematically characterized by various analytical, spectroscopic and imaging techniques. The reverse structure of the surfactant Pluronic® 31R1 (PPO‐PEO‐PPO) in comparison to Pluronic® P123 (PEO‐PPO‐PEO) played a vital role in controlling the particle size and morphology which in turn ameliorate the electrochemical performance in terms of reversible specific capacity (163 mAh g(−1) and 140 mAh g(−1) at 0.1 C for LFP/C311 and LFP/C123, respectively). In addition, LFP/C311 demonstrated excellent electrochemical performance including lower charge transfer resistance (146.3 Ω) and excellent cycling stability (95 % capacity retention at 1 C after 100 cycles) and high rate capability (163.2 mAh g(−1) at 0.1 C; 147.1 mAh g(−1) at 1 C). The better performance of the former is attributed to LFP nanoparticles (<50 nm) with a specific spindle‐shaped morphology. Further, we have also evaluated the electrode performance with the use of both PVDF and CMC binders employed for the electrode fabrication.