LiFePO4 doped with ions prepared by co-precipitation method

Olivine-type LiFePO4 has been a promising electrode material for lithium ion battery, but the poor conductivity limits its practical application. In order to improve the electronic conductivity, a small amount of ion (Mg2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+) was added by the route of co-precipitation. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) along with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and their electrochemical properties were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge and discharge tests. The results indicate that these ion dopants do not affect the structure of the material but considerably improves its capacity delivery and cycle performance, which is ascribed to the enhancement of the electronic inductivity by ion doping. Co-precipitation doping is an effective method to improve the ion doping results. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.