Porous Activated Carbon Prepared from Highland Barley Straw by Phosphoric Acid Activation as a Conductive Agent for Improving Electrochemical Performance of LiFePO4 Cathodes

Herein, porous activated carbon was synthesized from highland barley straw by phosphoric acid activation and used as a conductive agent for LiFePO 4 cathodes. The morphology and microstructure are characterized by scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption and desorption. The results show that the porous activated carbon convenient three-dimensional porous microstructure. Compared with the conventional conductive agent carbon black Super P, the obtained porous activated carbon presents a high capacity of 153.63 mA h g -1 at 0.1 C, as well as an excellent rate performance and cycling stability. The simple method for the preparation of porous activated carbon as a conductive agent with an excellent electrochemical performance opens up a new opportunity of LiFePO4 cathodes for widespread applications in lithium-ion batteries.