Characteristics of Carbon from Chitin-coated LiFePO4 and its Performance for Lithium Ion Battery
Ekawat Ratchai,
Montri Luengchavanon,
Kua-anan Techato,
Warakorn Limbuta,
Aujchariya Chotikhun,
Nyuk Yoong Voo
Affiliations
Ekawat Ratchai
Sustainable Energy Management Program, Wind Energy and Energy Storage Systems Centre (WEESYC), Faculty of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla University, Hatyai, Songkhla, 90110, Thailand
Montri Luengchavanon
Prince of Songkla University, Thailand
Kua-anan Techato
Sustainable Energy Management Program, Wind Energy and Energy Storage Systems Centre (WEESYC), Faculty of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla University, Hatyai, Songkhla, 90110, Thailand
Warakorn Limbuta
Division of Health and Applied Sciences, Thailand Center of Excellence for Innovation in Chemistry, Center of Excellence for Trace Analysis and Biosensor, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Hatyai, Songkhla, 90110, Thailand
Aujchariya Chotikhun
Faculty of Science and Industrial Technology, Prince of Songkla University, Surat Thani Campus, Mueang, Surat Thani 84000, Thailand
Nyuk Yoong Voo
Applied Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam
A LiFePO4 battery is the best device for energy storage. Batteries are currently being developed for higher capacity using novel materials. Carbon is one material that can be used to improve the properties of LiFePO4 batteries. The chitin produced from shrimp shell is a viable material that can be transformed into organic carbon. The chitin is revealed to be an element of 36.6 wt% carbon (C). Carbon is formed of small crystallites comprising electrode composite with a uniform carbon coating that can improve the electrochemical activation for LiFePO4/C composites. When the electrochemical reaction was operated at 1.2 V, the flow rate was increased 80%. The average charge-discharge capacities were 100 and -100 mAh/g, respectively, while the average energy density over a period of 20 cycles was 336 Wh/kg (maximum ~350 Wh/kg). Therefore, organic carbon can be used to remarkably improve the properties of LiFePO4 batteries with low-cost materials.
