The important role of adipic acid on the synthesis of nanocrystalline lithium iron phosphate with high rate performance

A simple, low-cost, adipic acid-assisted, solid-state method was used to prepare carbon-coated, nanocrystalline LiFePO4 material. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images revealed that the majority of the particles lay between 200 and 400 nm for pure LiFePO4, while the carbon-coated LiFePO4 particles were sized from 70 to 250 nm. Cycling studies indicated a high and stable discharge capacity of 150 mAh g−1 for the Li/carbon-coated nanocrystalline LiFePO4 at room temperature. High rate capability studies from 0.5C to 20C demonstrated an excellent capacity retention efficiency of over 99.9%.