Microscopic and spectroscopic properties of hydrothermally synthesized nano-crystalline LiFePO4 cathode material

• Synthesis of nano-crystalline LiFePO4 cathode by hydrothermal synthesis.
• Microstructural properties by XRD, FESEM and TEM.
• Insights of chemical purity and binding nature through XPS, FTIR and Raman.
• Stable electrochemical performance of nano-crystalline LiFePO4 cathode for lithium ion battery application.

LiFePO4 is one of the most promising cathode materials as it offers low cost, high abundance, appropriate theoretical capacity and environmental friendly. In the present investigation, nano-crystalline LiFePO4 has been synthesized by hydrothermal method and studied spectroscopic and microscopic properties. The XRD and TEM studies exhibited the formation of orthorhombic structure with Pnma space group. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy studies confirm the phase purity of the LiFePO4 powder. The electrochemical characteristics of LiFePO4 are measured in non-aqueous region. It exhibited a good reversible cyclic voltammogram on sweeping the potential upward and downward. The chronopotentiometric measurements performed at various C-rates and the cell exhibited a discharge capacity of 143 mA h/g at 0.1 C with good cycling stability.