CrPO₄/C composite as a novel anode material for lithium-ion batteries

The carbon coated CrPO₄ (CrPO₄/C) is prepared by high-temperature calcination of mixture glucose and CrPO₄ under inert atmosphere, in which CrPO₄ is synthesized by a combination of hydrothermal reaction and high-temperature sintering in air. The CrPO₄ and CrPO₄/C are first investigated as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries in this work, and CrPO₄/C displays higher capacity, better cyclability and rate capability than CrPO₄. In the voltage range of 0.01–3.0 V (vs. Li⁺/Li), CrPO₄ presents initial charge capacity of 342.8 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.2C (109.4 mA g⁻¹), while CrPO₄/C shows higher initial charge capacity of 686.7 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.2C and reversible capacity of 397.7 mAh g⁻¹ after 60 cycles. Even at high current rate of 1094 mA g⁻¹, CrPO₄/C exhibits high initial charge capacity of 616.5 mAh g⁻¹ and reversible capacity of 272 mAh g⁻¹ after 100 cycles, much higher than initial charge capacity of 266.7 mAh g⁻¹ and reversible capacity of 78 mAh g⁻¹ after 100 cycles for CrPO₄ under the same galvanostatically charged/discharge conditions. The results demonstrate that CrPO₄-based composite will be a promising anode material for LIBs after further optimization of synthesis and components.