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Electrochemical comparison of LiFePO4 synthesized by a solid-state method using either microwave heating or a tube furnace

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Abstract

LiFePO4/C composites were successfully prepared by a solid-state reaction in order to compare conventional heat treatment and microwave-assisted synthesis at different times of sintering. Microwave-assisted synthesis is interesting due to the fact that energy and inert gas consumption can be greatly reduced with respect to the conventional treatment, resulting in a cheaper synthesis method. The relationship between particle morphology and crystal structure using the composite synthesis was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) with refinements of the crystal structures carried out by the Rietveld method. In addition, the electrochemical performances were evaluated using constant current charge/discharge tests, cyclic voltammetry (CV), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). It was observed that the samples prepared by microwave heating had a better electrochemical behavior than those prepared in a conventional furnace. Also, in general, a higher sintering time improved the electrochemical behavior, but with increased particle sizes, and consequently, a decreased specific capacity.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the financial support of the “CONICET UE Desarrollo de Baterías de Litio,” Argentina. We thank Dr. Paul Hobson, native speaker, for revision of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Enrique Gaviola (IFEG),CCT Córdoba-CONICET, Facultad de Matemática, Astronomía y Física, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC), Av. Medina Allende s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, 5000, Córdoba, Argentina

    Cecilia A. Calderón, German Lener & Daniel E. Barraco

  2. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas (INIFTA), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, CCT La Plata-CONICET, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), CC 16, Suc. 4, 1900, La Plata, Argentina

    Jorge E. Thomas & Arnaldo Visintin

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  1. Cecilia A. Calderón
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  2. Jorge E. Thomas
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  3. German Lener
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Correspondence to Cecilia A. Calderón.

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Calderón, C.A., Thomas, J.E., Lener, G. et al. Electrochemical comparison of LiFePO4 synthesized by a solid-state method using either microwave heating or a tube furnace. J Appl Electrochem 47, 1179–1188 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-017-1111-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-017-1111-0

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