Electrochemically assisted growth of LiFePO4 in ionic liquid media

Electrodeposition techniques in aqueous media have so far been widely used in the field of battery research to make either nano-architectured current collectors or electrode materials. Deviating from such an approach we have explored ionic liquid media as electrolytic bath. Here we report the electrochemically-assisted synthesis of LiFePO4 in the 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(TriFluoromethaneSulfonyl)imide ([EMIm]TFSI) ionic liquid medium. Electrochemically active LiFePO4 powders with particles size of 500 nm were obtained from the electrolytic ionic liquid bath containing FeCl3 and Li3PO4 by conducting chronoamperometry at 275 degrees C. Moreover, LiFePO4 thick deposits have also been successfully prepared on a Li3PO4-loaded substrate. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.