Abstract
Olivine-structured LiCoPO4 is prepared via a facile solvothermal synthesis, using various ratios of water/diethylene glycol co-solvent, followed by thermal treatment under Ar, air, 5%H2/N2 or NH3. The diethylene glycol plays an important role in tailoring the particle size of LiCoPO4. It is found that using a ratio of water/diethylene glycol of 1 : 6 (v/v), LiCoPO4 is obtained with a homogenous particle size of ∼150 nm. The bare LiCoPO4 prepared after heating in Ar exhibits high initial discharge capacity of 147 mA h g−1 at 0.1C with capacity retention of 70% after 40 cycles. This is attributed to the enhanced electronic conductivity of LiCoPO4 due to the presence of Co2P after firing under Ar. The effects of carbon, TiN and RuO2 coating are also examined. Contrary to other studies, it is found that the solvothermally synthesised LiCoPO4 samples produced here do not require conductive coatings to achieve good performance.
Highlights
Development of energy storage and conversion devices is vital to address the increasing energy crisis and ecological concerns in the 21st century.[1]
The diethylene glycol plays an important role in tailoring the particle size of LiCoPO4
It is found that using a ratio of water/diethylene glycol of 1 : 6 (v/v), LiCoPO4 is obtained with a homogenous particle size of $150 nm
Summary
This is attributed to the enhanced electronic conductivity of LiCoPO4 due to the presence of Co2P after firing under Ar. The effects of carbon, TiN and RuO2 coating are examined. LiCoPO4 samples were coated with TiN, carbon or RuO2 with a variety of processing conditions and thicknesses to determine whether the expected conductivity enhancement and increased surface stability improved the electrochemical behaviour of the materials.
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