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Lithium-ion batteries

An unexpected conductor

Nature Materials volume 1, pages 81–82 (2002)Cite this article

The discovery that the electronic conductivity of LiFePO4 can be increased by eight orders of magnitude may have a profound impact on the next generation of lithium-ion batteries.

Lithium iron phosphate, LiFePO4, was first reported as a positive electrode for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in 1997 by John Goodenough and co-workers at the University of Texas, Austin1. In a lithium-ion cell, LiFePO4 provides an attractive voltage of 3.5 volts, but it has inherently low electronic conductivity, which reduces the power capability of the cell. In this issue of Nature Materials, Chiang and colleagues2 report a remarkable increase in the bulk electronic conductivity of LiFePO4 by eight orders of magnitude to 10−2 S cm−1. This finding has exciting implications for the future of LiFePO4 in a new generation of lithium-ion batteries.

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Figure 1: Layered, spinel and olivine structures of positive electrode materials for lithium batteries.

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  1. Chemical Technology Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 60439, Illinois, USA

    Michael Thackeray

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  1. Michael Thackeray
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Thackeray, M. An unexpected conductor. Nature Mater 1, 81–82 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat736

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat736

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