Nanosized LiFePO4 cathode materials for lithium ion batteries

In this study, we prepared nano-particles of LiFePO4 as cathode material for lithium ion batteries by the solid-state reaction. A simple one-step heat treatment has been employed with control of heating temperature and heated LiFePO4 at 650 degrees C exhibited higher 125 mA h/g of the discharge capacity than 600 degrees C, 700 degrees C. To improve conductivity of the inter-particle, carbon coating was carried out by raw carbon or pyrene as carbon sources and their morphological properties of particles on the carbon coating was compared with by FE-SEM, TEM. From the FE-SEM results, the particles of carbon added LiFePO4 have much smaller size than LiFePO4 as below 300 nm. When adding pyrene (10 wt%), the carbon surrounded non-uniformly with surface of the particles compared with adding raw carbon which wrapped uniformly with carbon web and it was exhibited 152 mA h/g of the discharge capacity on LiFePO4/C composite cells at 10th cycle.