Hydrothermal synthesis of well-dispersed LiMnPO₄ plates for lithium ion batteries cathode

Well-dispersed LiMnPO₄ plates with thickness of about 100 nm were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method at 200 °C for 10 h. The crystalline structure, morphology and microstructure were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The LiMnPO₄ electrode exhibits high discharge capacity, good rate capability and high cycling stability. At a 0.05 C rate, the plates delivered a discharge capacity of 139.2 mA h g^-1 at 25 °C and 158.7 mA h g^-1 at 50 °C. At elevated temperature (50 °C), the plates showed an enhanced rate capability, achieving a discharge capacity of 147.6, 141.4, 133.6, 121.4, and 110.7 mA h g^-1 at 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, and 2 C, respectively. Moreover, the plates had good cycling stability, retaining 92% of the initial capacity at 25 °C and 91% at 50 °C over 50 cycles at 0.1 C. The excellent electrochemical performance of this material is attributed to its high specific surface area, large percentage of exposed (0 1 0) facets as well as small thickness along the [0 1 0] direction.