Investigation on high performance LiFePO4 nanoplates with the {010} face prominent for lithium battery cathode materials

LiFePO4 nanoplates were synthesized by using ethylene glycol (EG) as a solvent. The morphologies and sizes of the LiFePO4 particles were strongly dependent on synthetic parameters such as concentrations and mole ratio of reactants. LiFePO4 particles are nanoplates with the {010} face prominent, namely, with a short b-axis and the samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) test analysis. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis implied that the defect concentrations of the Fe
- Li antisite in LiFePO4 nanoplates were very low. The electrochemical behaviors were investigated by cyclic voltammetry measurements in the Li2SO4 aqueous electrolyte. It was shown that all samples could undergo lithium-ion deintercalation and intercalation upon oxidation and reduction at a scan rate range of 5-20 mV/s. Only the sample (formed in a FeSO4·7H2O to H3PO4 and LiOH·H2O ratio of 1:1.5:2.7 with appropriate concentration) could undergo lithium-ion deintercalation and intercalation at a large scan rate even at 280 mV/s and showed excellent rapid charge and discharge performance. This provided a facile way to prepare high performance LiFePO4 nanoplate cathode material for lithium ion batteries.