Environment-friendly cathodes using biopolymer chitosan with enhanced electrochemical behavior for use in lithium ion batteries.

The biopolymer chitosan has been investigated as a potential binder for the fabrication of LiFePO4 cathode electrodes in lithium ion batteries. Chitosan is compared to the conventional binder, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). Dispersion of the active material, LiFePO4, and conductive agent, Super P carbon black, is tested using a viscosity analysis. The enhanced structural and morphological properties of chitosan are compared to the PVDF binder using X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Using an electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis, the LiFePO4 electrode with the chitosan binder is observed to have a high ionic conductivity and a smaller increase in charge transfer resistance based on time compared to the LiFePO4 electrode with the PVDF binder. The electrode with the chitosan binder also attains a higher discharge capacity of 159.4 mAh g(-1) with an excellent capacity retention ratio of 98.38% compared to the electrode with the PVDF binder, which had a discharge capacity of 127.9 mAh g(-1) and a capacity retention ratio of 85.13%. Further, the cycling behavior of the chitosan-based electrode is supported by scrutinizing its charge-discharge behavior at specified intervals and by a plot of dQ/dV.