Hydrothermal synthesis of tailored new promising phosphate particles for lithium and sodium ion batteries

The rechargeable Li-ion batteries dominate the currently used storage systems due to their unrivalled electrochemical properties. However, this technology needs more improvements to meet coast, high capacity, safety and environmental requirements. Current researches on Li-ion batteries are focusing on the development of safe and cheap electrode compounds with good electrochemical performance. Iron phosphate-based electrodes have attracted increasing interest due to their environmental compatibility, low cost and its promising electrochemical performance as positive electrode materials in LIB.

In this work, we report the electrochemical properties of Fex(PO4)(OH)y.zH2O) cathode material obtained by one-pot hydrothermal synthesis route, a technique which produces the particles with suitable properties for electrode application. We show that the addition of a conducting carbon (carbon black or carbon nanotubes) into the solution has a strong influence on reducing the size and tailoring morphology of material particles. These are among the main factors to enhance the electrochemical performance of the material.
Combined with electrochemical and XRD studies, operando Mössbauer analysis shows that Fex(PO4)(OH)y.zH2O) undergoes a reversible reduction/oxidation during lithium intercalation/ deintercalation processes.

Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Walloon Region through the BATWAL project [PE Plan Marshall 2.vert]; and the Beware Fellowship Academia [2015-1, RESIBAT n° 1510399].