Synthesis of Li3V2(PO4)3 cathode material via a fast sol–gel method based on spontaneous chemical reactions

Abstract A fast sol–gel method based on spontaneous chemical reactions is developed to synthesize high performance Li 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 /C cathode material. The crystal structures, surface morphologies and electrochemical behaviors of the Li 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 /C samples sintered at different temperatures are investigated. In the potential range of 3.0–4.3 V, the sample sintered at 750 °C shows the highest discharge capacities of 127.9 mAh g −1 and 124.0 mAh g −1 at 1 C and 5 C rates after 100 cycles respectively. Furthermore, at 10 C , 15 C and 20 C rates, the discharge capacities of the optimal Li 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 /C composite still retains 117.6 mAh g −1 , 114.9 mAh g −1 and 83.6 mAh g −1 in the 150th cycle respectively. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurement illustrates that the electrochemical behavior of the optimal sample almost has no change after 100 cycles at 5 C rate, indicating the stable structure of the synthesized material.