Synthesis of highly dispersed FePO4 cathode material for rechargeable lithium battery

Highly dispersed, porous and nano-sized FePO4 have been synthesized by a facile aqueous and alcoholic medium for their application as cathode in rechargeable lithium batteries. Various dispersing templates in association with suitable solvents are used to introduce porosity and dispersive nature among the particles and to reduce the size of the particles. Characterization with FTIR, powder XRD and SEM suggests the formation of less crystalline, pure FePO4 with high surface area and high porosity. Cyclic voltametry has been employed to test the intercalation behaviour of lithium ions and confirms the reversible nature of the material. The role of the dispersing template for the material growth and the electrochemical performances of the synthesized FePO4 as cathode in lithium battery have been discussed. It is found that poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) as the dispersing agent produces highly dispersed material with highest discharge capacity of 138 mAh.g-1. Copyright © 2017 VBRI Press.