Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4 - CAS number 15365-14-7) also known as lithium ferro phosphate (LFP), for use as the cathode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). LiFePO4 has high specific energy (90 – 170 Wh Kg-1), high volumetric energy density (1200 kJ L-1) and offer good cyclic performance (~1500 cycles) with nominal cell voltage (~3.2 Vs. Li/Li+).

Lithium iron phosphate has a wide but flat exothermic reaction peak at 250 – 360 °C with a much smaller heat release of 147 J g-1. The strong P–O covalent bond prohibits oxygen release thus promoting intrinsic safety which is the top priority of an electrical vehicles (EVs). Also with relatively Low cost, long battery life, no cobalt content, it makes LFP battery cells desirable for mass production for in EVs.

Technical Data

Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) Powder

Crystal Structure

The triphylite lithium iron phsophate (LiFePO4) belongs to the olivine family of lithium ortho-phosphates. LiFePO4 has an orthorhombic crystal lattice structure in the space group Pnma. The unit cell structure is represented by corner-shared FeO6 octahedra and edge-shared LiO6 octahedra running parallel to the b-axis, linked together by the PO4 tetrahedra.

When lithium iron phosphate is coated with 2 wt% of the electrochemically exfoliated graphene layers, it is able to reach 208 mAh g-1 in specific capacity. Binder-free SWCNT modified LFPO cathode delivers a superior rate capacity of 161.5 mAh g-1 at 0.5 C and 130.2 mAh g-1 at 5 C, with a high-rate capacity retention of 87.4% after 200 cycles at 2 C.