Porous, carbon-decorated LiFePO4 prepared by sol–gel method based on citric acid

A new type of LiFePO4–carbon composite cathode material was prepared. The active component consists of micrometer-sized particles containing pores with wide distribution of sizes. When filled with electrolyte, the pores are responsible for supply of ions while the distance between the pores (30–150 nm) determines the solid-state diffusion kinetics. The walls of pores are covered with a carbon layer which serves as an electron conductor and is thin enough (2–3 nm) to allow penetration of lithium ions. The synthesis is sol–gel based with a single heating step. The electrochemical performance is equal to the best-published results for LiFePO4 cathodes.