Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A combustion synthesis technique was used to prepare nanoparticulate LiMgxMn1-xPO4 (x=0, 0.1,0.2)/carbon composites. Powders consisted of carbon-coated particles about 30 nm in diameter, which were partly agglomerated into larger secondary particles. The utilization of the active materials in lithium cells depended most strongly upon the post-treatment and the Mg content, and was not influenced by the amount of carbon. Best results were achieved with a hydrothermally treated LiMg0.2Mn0.8PO4/C composite, which exhibited close to 50percent utilization of the theoretical capacity at a C/2 discharge rate.