Advantages and Disadvantages of Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries

Lithium iron phosphate battery is also a type of lithium battery. Just like the batteries used in our mobile phones, the positive electrode material of lithium iron phosphate batteries is mainly a compound of phosphorus, acid, iron, and lithium. Some people also call it lithium iron (LiFe) power battery.

Advantages:
1: The life of iron phosphate battery, under standard charging conditions, the number of cycles can reach more than 2,000 times. The charge and discharge cycle life of ordinary lithium batteries is generally more than 500 times. And its power storage rate will become lower and lower as time goes by.
2: Large capacity and high density. Lithium iron phosphate batteries have a storage capacity 2 to 3 times higher than ordinary lithium batteries of the same volume. .
3: Light weight. The volume of a lithium iron phosphate battery with the same specification and capacity is 2/3 that of a lead-acid battery, and its weight is 1/3 that of a lead-acid battery.
4: Constant capacity. I believe everyone will encounter such problems, that is, our mobile phone batteries, computer batteries, and even electric vehicle batteries. After they have been used for a period of time, we will find that the electricity stored in them becomes less. This is because if ordinary batteries are not fully charged for a long time, the battery's storage capacity will decrease rapidly. The characteristic of lithium phosphate batteries is that they can be used at any time! And it will never affect its storage capacity.
5: Green and environmentally friendly. Lithium iron phosphate batteries have environmental performance that other batteries do not have because they do not contain heavy metals. Therefore, development projects strongly promoted by the country have been applied in the fields of electric bicycles or electric cars.
6: Good high temperature performance. The electric heating peak of lithium iron phosphate can reach 350℃-500℃, while the peak value of lithium manganate and lithium cobalt oxide is only around 200℃. It has a wide operating temperature range (-20C--75C) and has high temperature resistance. The peak value of lithium iron phosphate electric heating can reach 350℃-500℃, while lithium manganate and lithium cobalt oxide are only around 200℃.

Disadvantages: poor low-temperature performance, low tap density of the cathode material, and the volume of lithium iron phosphate batteries of the same capacity is larger than that of lithium-ion batteries such as lithium cobalt oxide, so it has no advantage in micro batteries. When used in power batteries, lithium iron phosphate batteries, like other batteries, need to face battery consistency issues.
1. During the sintering process during the preparation of lithium iron phosphate, iron oxide may be reduced to elemental iron in a high-temperature reducing atmosphere. Elemental iron can cause micro-short circuits in batteries and is the most taboo substance in batteries.
2. Lithium iron phosphate has some performance defects, such as low tap density and compaction density, resulting in low energy density of lithium-ion batteries. The low-temperature performance is poor, and even nanonization and carbon coating do not solve this problem.
3. The preparation cost of materials and the manufacturing cost of batteries are high, the battery yield is low, and the consistency is poor. Although the nanonization and carbon coating of lithium iron phosphate improve the electrochemical performance of the material, it also brings other problems, such as reduced energy density, increased synthesis cost, poor electrode processing performance, and harsh environmental requirements. Although the chemical elements Li, Fe and P in lithium iron phosphate are abundant and the cost is low, the cost of the prepared lithium iron phosphate product is not low. Even if the initial research and development costs are removed, the process cost of the material plus the high The cost of preparing batteries will make the final cost per unit of energy storage higher.
4. Product consistency is poor. At present, there is no lithium iron phosphate material factory in China that can solve this problem. From the perspective of material preparation, the synthesis reaction of lithium iron phosphate is a complex multi-phase reaction, including solid phase phosphate, iron oxide and lithium salt, plus carbon precursor and reducing gas phase. In this complex reaction process, it is difficult to ensure the consistency of the reaction.