Synthesises, characterizations and electrochemical properties of spherical-like LiFePO4 by hydrothermal method

Spherical-like LiFePO4 was synthesized by hydrothermal synthesis method using Phenanthroline as a complexing-agent to avoid the Fe(II) ions from oxidation and control the growth of the crystal. Structural, electron valence state, morphology and particle size were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), Mössbauer spectra, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and laser particle sizer. Charge–discharge cycling performances were used to characterize its electrochemical properties. The sample possesses uniformly distributed spherical-like particles with an average size of 0.5–1 μm. Test shows that the reversible capacity of spherical-like LiFePO4 is about 140 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C. The capacity fading is neglectable.