Economical Hydrometallurgical Routes for LiFePO4/C Cathode Materials Fabrication

Abstract

Li ion battery or LIB is an energy storage device that provides and store electrical energy and chemical energy, respectively. LIBs have been widely developed in the energy sector owing to their considerable high energy density, high capacity, and long-life cycle. In this study, the LiFePO4/C cathode was synthesized from various precursors FeC2O4, FePO4, Fe3(PO4)2, Fe2O3 obtained via co-precipitation method, and continued with solid-state. The effects of precursors were studied in this study. The precursor and the resulting product were analyzed using XRD, FTIR, SEM, and EDX, while the electrochemical performance was tested using charge-discharge, cycle stability and rate capability. All precursors were successfully synthesized as evidenced by XRD, FTIR, SEM, and EDX characterization tests. Based on electrochemical performance test, the highest capacity that can be achieved is 109 mAh/g obtained from LFP with FeC2O4 precursor, with a reduction in capacity of 54.7% after 50 cycles.