Identification the impact of carbon addition on phase formation and electrochemical performance of LiFePO4/C synthesized from ferronickel-derived FePO4

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15587/1729-4061.2026.365363

Keywords:

LiFePO4, ferronickel-derived FePO4, carbon addition, phase formation, cathode materials

Abstract

The object of this study was LiFePO4/C cathode material synthesized using a ferronickel-derived FePO4 precursor, with the main focus is the effect of carbon addition on phase formation and electrochemical performance. The problem was how carbon addition affects olivine LiFePO4 phase formation, impurity suppression, microstructure, and electrochemical performance when a non-commercial ferronickel-derived iron precursor is used. The precursor was mixed with LiOH as a lithium source and varying amounts of carbon from Super P: 5 wt.%, 7 wt.%, and 9 wt.%. Carbon addition influenced the formation of olivine LiFePO4. At 7 wt.% LFP/C, the diffraction pattern was dominated by the LiFePO4 phase, around 99.60% based on Rietveld refinement. The absence of detectable Ni by EDX suggests that Ni carryover from the ferronickel-derived precursor was minimized. The results suggest that ferronickel-derived FePO4 can be used as a precursor for LiFePO4/C synthesis, and carbon addition promotes phase development with 7 wt.% as the optimum composition. The results can be practically used as a basis for developing value-added LiFePO4/C cathode materials from ferronickel-derived iron resources under controlled synthesis conditions, particularly when the FePO4 precursor purity is maintained, Super P carbon is used in the range of 5–9 wt.%, and the material is processed by ball milling, preheating at 300°C, and calcination at 650°C under an argon atmosphere. The 7 wt.% LFP/C sample had a specific capacity of 140 mAh g⁻1 at 0.1 C, but electrochemical performance still requires optimization due to particle interconnection and agglomeration. EIS data show that 7 wt.% carbon is the most favorable composition in terms of charge-transfer resistance (34.91 Ω) and conductivity (2.79 × 10⁻4 S/cm), while 9 wt.% carbon provided the best lithium-ion diffusion characteristics (1.96 × 10⁻13 cm2 s⁻1). These results indicate that ferronickel-derived iron resources have strong potential to be converted into value-added battery cathode materials

Author Biographies

Vita Astini, Universitas Indonesia

Student

Department of Metallurgy & Materials Engineering

Anne Zulfia Syahrial, Universitas Indonesia

Professor

Department of Metallurgy & Materials Engineering

Achmad Subhan, National Research and Innovation Agency

Research Center for Advanced Materials

Johny Wahyuadi Mudaryoto Soedarsono, Universitas Indonesia

Professor

Department of Metallurgy & Materials Engineering

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Identification the impact of carbon addition on phase formation and electrochemical performance of LiFePO4/C synthesized from ferronickel-derived FePO4

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Published

2026-06-30

How to Cite

Astini, V., Syahrial, A. Z., Subhan, A., & Mudaryoto Soedarsono, J. W. (2026). Identification the impact of carbon addition on phase formation and electrochemical performance of LiFePO4/C synthesized from ferronickel-derived FePO4. Eastern-European Journal of Enterprise Technologies, 3(12 (141), 36–47. https://doi.org/10.15587/1729-4061.2026.365363

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 12 (141) (2026): Materials Science

Section

Materials Science

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Copyright (c) 2026 Vita Astini, Anne Zulfia Syahrial, Achmad Subhan, Johny Wahyuadi Mudaryoto Soedarsono

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