Research status in preparation of FePO₄: a review

The cathode is the most important component of a lithium-ion battery. The olivine structure lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄) with its numerous appealing features, such as high theoretical capacity, acceptable operating voltage, increased safety, environmental benignity, and low cost, has attracted extensive interest as a potential cathode material for Li-ion batteries. As a precursor, FePO₄ can be used to produce LiFePO₄ on a large scale with high bulk density, discharge rate, and capacity. This can be realized by controlling the crystal size and morphology of FePO₄. The characteristics, structure, and synthesis methods of FePO₄ are discussed in this review. The relative merits of these synthetic methods, as well as some suggestions on how to improve them, are also presented.