Nanoporous Structured LiFePO4 with Spherical Microscale Particles Having High Volumetric Capacity for Lithium Batteries

To overcome a major limitation of volumetric energy density, we prepared micrometer-sized LiFePO4 particles with a unique spongelike morphology and a high packing density. Each LiFePO4 secondary particle (6 mu m) consisted of nanoscale (200-300 nm) primary LiFePO4 particles coated with carbon and had nanoscale (100-200 nm) pores throughout. Compared with the nano-LiFePO4 positive electrode material, this carbon-impregnated, spongelike, nanoporous material resulted in a similarly high rate capability plus a 2.5 times greater volumetric energy density.This research was supported by the Korean Institute of Energy and Resources Technology Evaluation and Planning and the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF) grant funded by the Korean government (MEST) (no. R11-2008-088-03002-0)