Low-temperature synthesis of a green material for lithium-ion batteries cathode

摘要

Battery technology is an important anthropogenic source of the heavy metals which are highly threatening to human health. A category of rechargeable lithium batteries that is of great interest is the set of batteries where the cathode material is a lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4). LiFePO4 is an environmentally friendly and safe lithium-ion battery cathode material, but it has a key limitation, and that is its extremely low-electronic conductivity, a problem that can be greatly overcome by zinc-doping LiFePO4. For the first time to our knowledge, a low-temperature method, that is advantageous both economically and technologically, for the synthesis of a zinc-doped LiFePO4 is presented. Since the method appears to be applicable for synthesizing various zinc-doped LiFePO4 compounds with the general formula LiFe1?x Zn x PO4 (0x1), it is very promising for the production of a green cathode material for lithium-ion batteries.