Rheological phase synthesis of nanosized α-LiFeO2 with higher crystallinity degree for cathode material of lithium-ion batteries

In this paper, rheological phase method has been successfully applied to synthesize nanosized α-LiFeO2, a promising cathode material of lithium-ion batteries. The formation, structure and morphology of the as-prepared powder were characterized by Thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses (TGA/DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The particle size of the obtained α-LiFeO2 ranged from 100 to 300 nm. It exhibited an initial discharge capacity 169 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C between 1.5 and 4.3 V, especially excellent cycling retention from the 10th to the 50th cycle (96.8%) between 1.5 and 4.3 V. The higher crystallinity degree might be responsible for the cyclability improvement.