Journal of Power Sources, Vol.205, 414-419, 2012
Highly ordered LiFePO4 cathode material for Li-ion batteries templated by surfactant-modified polystyrene colloidal crystals
An organic template assisted synthesis was developed to obtain highly ordered porous LiFePO4 cathode material. The developed synthesis enabled the use of polystyrene (PS) as template by modifying its surface with a surfactant (Brij 78) to render it hydrophilic. The material was synthesized in high yield and purity as confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction. The TEM and SEM images clearly confirmed the presence of a highly ordered porous structure and the latter showed that the structure has an average pore diameter of 400 nm and a wall thickness and depth of similar to 100 nm. Thermal scans and elemental analysis showed that the material contains a high amount of carbon reaching 23-28% by weight. The surface area was calculated using the BET method and found to be 7.71 m(2) g(-1). Li/LiFePO4 half cells were tested and gave satisfactory discharge capacities; an initial capacity (158 mAh g(-1)) close to the theoretical value and recoverable capacities at high C-rates (2-5 C). Crown Copyright (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords:LiFePO4;Li-ion battery;Cathode material;Three-dimensionally ordered macroporous structure;Organic template assisted synthesis