Electrochemical synthesis of mesoporous FePO4 nanoparticles for fabricating high performance LiFePO4/C cathode materials

Unique amorphous FePO4 with particle size ranging from 20 to 80 nm has been successfully synthesized by a new cost-effective electrochemical method. This FePO4 possesses a mesoporous structure with specific surface area of 65.2 m2 g−1 and dominant pore diameter of 23.6 nm. The basic formation mechanism has been discussed. These amorphous mesoporous FePO4 nanoparticles can be used as precursors to prepare LiFePO4/C nanocrystals with porous structure. The obtained LiFePO4/C cathode materials exhibit excellent cycling performances. At a 0.5 C rate, the discharge capability is above 140.0 mA h g−1 and the capacity retention rate is higher than 98% after 50 cycles. The microstructural and electrochemical analyses reveal that these amorphous mesoporous FePO4 nanoparticles are the perfect precursors to prepare LiFePO4/C composite. Furthermore, this facile, cost-effective and green electrochemical strategy can be easily scaled up for commercialization, and also could open avenues towards synthesizing other mesoporous phosphate materials.

Graphical abstractThe schematic diagram of formation mechanism for mesoporous FePO4 nanoparticles.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► We synthesize amorphous mesoporous FePO4 via a new electrochemical method. ► The specific surface area is 65.2 m2 g−1, the dominant pore diameter is 23.6 nm. ► The LiFePO4/C prepared from FePO4 exhibits excellent electrochemical performance.