Improvement of the Electrochemical Performance of LiCoPO4 5 V Material Using a Novel Synthesis Procedure

TLDR: In this paper, a LiCoPO 4 cathode material with the highest discharge capacity (125 mAh/g) is reported, which is obtained by using a novel solid-state synthesis procedure, using an alternative cobalt-containing precursor (CoNH 4 PO 4 ) and a lithium excess synthesis with carbon black as temporal dispersing agent, later eliminated as CO 2.

Abstract: A LiCoPO 4 cathode material with, to our knowledge the highest discharge capacity (125 mAh/g) is reported. The phosphate is obtained by using a novel solid-state synthesis procedure. The basic idea of the novel synthesis procedure is the use of an alternative cobalt-containing precursor (CoNH 4 PO 4 ) and a lithium excess synthesis with carbon black as temporal dispersing agent, later eliminated as CO 2 . The carbon black addition produces lower average particle size than conventional preparations, yielding a finely dispersed solid. The low particle size is responsible for a better electrochemical behavior. Finally the effects of scan rate and potential window on the electrochemical performance are discussed.