Binary conductive additives (BCA), formed by sonication of mesoporous carbon (MC) and acetylene black (AB), were used as conductive additives to improve the electrochemical performance of a LiCoO2 composite cathode. The electrochemical performance of the LiCoO2 composite cathode dispersed with BCA was investigated. The results showed that the electrochemical performance (including the discharge capacity, the discharge voltage and the total internal resistance) of a BCA loaded LiCoO2 composite cathode was better than that of a cathode loaded with AB. The possible mechanism is that the MC in BCA can adsorb and retain electrolyte solution, which allows an intimate contact between the lithium ions and the cathode active material LiCoO2 due to its large mesopore specific surface area, A simplified model was also proposed. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.