Synthesis and Electrochemical Characteristics of LiFePO4/C Cathode Materials from Different Precursors

Synthetic conditions and electrochemical characters of electrode materials mainly depend on the precursor. LiFePO4/C cathode materials are synthesized by solid-state reaction, using α-Fe2O3, Fe3O4, FePO4 and NH4FePO4 as precursors, respectively. The influences of precursor on structure and electrochemical performance of LiFePO4/C are investigated. The composition, structure, morphology, and physicochemical properties of the LiFePO4/C products from each precursor are characterized in detail by XRD, SEM, BET and electrochemical performance measurements. LiFePO4/C obtained from FePO4 precursor has the excellent electrochemical performances. LiFePO4/C prepared from α-Fe2O3 or Fe3O4 precursor also have good electrochemical properties, and the cost is much low because of the cheap precursors. For NH4FePO4 precursor, LiFePO4/C is most easy to be synthesized because the ratio of Fe2+ to PO43- is 1:1 and the carbothermal reduction is not necessary.