High dispersed carbon black was applied for LiFePO4 cathodes as conductive agent.Nano-conductive carbon agent was pre-dispersed with poly acrylic acid(PAA) as dispersant in organic N-methyl-pyrrolidone(NMP) solvent system.The dispersion property of nano-conductive carbon agent was evaluated using particle size distribution measurements,scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and transmission electron microscope(TEM).LiFePO4 cathode with as-received nano-conductive carbon agent(SP) and LiFePO4 cathode with pre-dispersed nano-conductive carbon agent(SP-PAA) were examined by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),cyclic voltammetry(CV),electrochemical impendence spectroscopy(EIS) and charge/discharge cycling performance.Results show that the dispersion property of carbon black is improved by using PAA as the dispersant.The LiFePO4 cathodes with SP-PAA exhibit improved rate behaviors(4C,135.1 mAh/g) and cycle performance(95%,200 cycles) compared to LiFePO4 cathodes with SP(4C,103.9 mAh/g and 83%,200 cycles).Because pre-dispersed carbon black(SP-PAA) is dispersed homogeneously in the dried composite electrode to form a more uniform conductive network between the active material particles,electrochemical performances of the LiFePO4 cathodes are improved.
