Effect of surfactants on the electrochemical behavior of LiFePO4 cathode material for lithium ion batteries

• A news process is developed for preparation of conductive carbon coated LiFePO4.
• Nature of carbon-coating plays a critical role in the electrochemical performance.
• Mössbauer spectroscopy identifies the presence of amorphous impurity phases.
• Lower concentration of impurity phases led to a better electrochemical performance.
• LiFePO4 made in presence of lauric acid may be a promising material for lithium secondary batteries.

The application of lithium iron phosphate as positive electrode material for lithium ion batteries has been challenged by its poor electronic conductivity. To improve its conductivity and electrochemical performance, we have synthesized LiFePO4/C composite cathode materials by sol gel technique using long chain fatty acids, such as, lauric, myristic, and oleic acids, as surfactants for carbon coating. The phase purity of the three LiFePO4/C composites was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy measurements show that the surfactants coat the LiFePO4 particles with carbon with varying degree of uniformity depending on the surfactant used. The sample prepared in presence of lauric acid shows smaller particle size and the lowest charge transfer resistance, higher Li-ion diffusion coefficient, higher discharge capacity (∼155 mAh g−1 at C/3 rate), better rate capability and cyclic stability compared to the other two samples. We found the smaller particle size, uniformity of carbon coating, reduced agglomeration, and a lower amount of Fe3+ impurity phase in the samples to be major contributing factors for better electrochemical properties in the LiFePO4/C cathode material.