Low-temperature synthesis of a green material for lithium-ion batteries cathode

Battery technology is an important anthropogenic source of the heavy metals which are highly threatening to human health. A category of rechargeable lithium batteries that is of great interest is the set of batteries where the cathode material is a lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO(4)). LiFePO(4) is an environmentally friendly and safe lithiumion battery cathode material, but it has a key limitation, and that is its extremely low-electronic conductivity, a problem that can be greatly overcome by zinc-doping LiFePO(4). For the first time to our knowledge, a low-temperature method, that is advantageous both economically and technologically, for the synthesis of a zinc-doped LiFePO(4) is presented. Since the method appears to be applicable for synthesizing various zinc-doped LiFePO(4) compounds with the general formula LiFe(1-x)Zn(x)PO(4) (0 < x < 1), it is very promising for the production of a green cathode material for lithium-ion batteries.