Structural and electrochemical studies of PPy/PEG-LiFePO4 cathode material for Li-ion batteries

A simple chemical oxidative polymerization of pyrrole (Py) directly onto the surface of LiFePO₄ particles was applied to the synthesis of polypyrrole-LiFePO₄ (PPy-LiFePO₄) powder. The LiFePO₄ sample without carbon coating was synthesized by a solvothermal method. The polyethylene glycol (PEG) was used as additive during Py polymerization for increasing the PPy-LiFePO₄ conductivity. Properties of resulting LiFePO₄, PPy-LiFePO₄ and PPy/PEG-LiFePO₄ samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, TGA and galvanostatic charge-discharge measurements. These methods confirmed the presence of polypyrrole on LiFePO₄ particles and its homogeneous distribution in the resulting powder material. The PPy/PEG-LiFePO₄ composites show higher discharge capacity than pure LiFePO₄, as PPy/PEG network improves the electron conductivity. It presents specific discharge capacity of 153 mAh/g at C/5 rate.