Synthesis of nano-sized urchin-shaped LiFePO₄ for lithium ion batteries

In this article, the facile synthesis of sea urchin-shaped LiFePO₄ nanoparticles by thermal decomposition of metal-surfactant complexes and application of these nanoparticles as a cathode in lithium ion secondary batteries is demonstrated. The advantages of this work are a facile method to synthesize interesting LiFePO₄ nanostructures and its synthetic mechanism. Accordingly, the morphology of LiFePO₄ particles could be regulated by the injection of oleylamine, with other surfactants and phosphoric acid. This injection step was critical to tailor the morphology of LiFePO₄ particles, converting them from nanosphere shapes to diverse types of urchin-shaped nanoparticles. Electron microscopy analysis showed that the overall dimension of the urchin-shaped LiFePO₄ particles varied from 300 nm to 2 μm. A closer observation revealed that numerous thin nanorods ranging from 5 to 20 nm in diameter were attached to the nanoparticles. The hierarchical nanostructure of these urchin-shaped LiFePO₄ particles mitigated the low tap density problem. In addition, the nanorods less than 20 nm attached to the edge of urchin-shaped nanoparticles significantly increased the pathways for electronic transport.