Hydrothermal synthesis of LiFePO<inf>4</inf> nanorods composed of nanoparticles from vivianite precursor and its electrochemical performance for lithium ion battery applications

LiFePO4 nanorods composed of nanoparticles were synthesized from precursor phase Fe3(PO4)2(H2O)8 (vivianite) via hydrothermal reaction. Nanorods consisting of nanoparticles were formed by using L-(+)-ascorbic acid as reducing and capping agent. Near-theoretical specific capacity is achieved at 0.1 C rate with excellent retention capacity of up to 50 cycles. Morphology of as-synthesized samples favours fast intercalation/deintercalation process with easy mass and charge transfer.