Carbon coated Li3VO4 microsphere: Ultrafast solvothermal synthesis and excellent performance as lithium-ion battery anode

Abstract Li3VO4 is a promising anode material for next-generation lithium ion batteries. However, inferior electronic conductivity and cumbersomely preparing route limit its further development. Herein, we prepared Li3VO4 microspheres with average diameter of 1.8 μm by solvothermal route in only 10 min. When used as anode material for the lithium ion battery, the uniform microspheres of Li3VO4 delivered a discharge capacity of 233 mA h g−1 after 1000 cycles at 4 A g−1. Even at a high rate of 10 A g−1, a discharge capacity of 152 mA h g−1 was achieved. Detail microstructure and electrochemical characterization demonstrates that the excellent performance of as-prepared anode originates from the uniform microsphere morphology and the presence of ~2 nm carbon substance on the surface of microsphere. More importantly, when Li3VO4 microsphere anode packages into full cell with commercial LiFePO4, three cells in series steadily light three red LEDs, implying an outstanding potential of Li3VO4 microsphere anode for practical application in lithium ion battery.