Biosynthesis and electrochemical characteristics of LiFePO4/C by microwave processing

The yeast cells are adopted as a template and cementation agent to prepare LiFePO4/C with high surface area by co-precipitation and microwave processing. The electrochemical properties of the resultant products are investigated. The synthesized LiFePO4/C is characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method, and battery test instrument. The LiFePO4/C particles with average size of 35-100 nm coated by porous carbon are observed by TEM. The LiFePO4/C, with the specific surface area of 98.3 m2/g, exhibits initial discharge specific capacity of 147 mAh/g and good cycle ability. The yeast cells as a template are used to synthesize the precursor LiFePO4/cells compounds. In microwave heating process, the use of yeast cells as reducing matter and cementation agent results in the enhancement of the electrochemical properties.