ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the studies carried out on the lithiated
orthosilicate materials as potential cathode for Li-ion batteries.
The only member of the orthosilicate family that, according to
the present knowledge, shows potential usage in the commercial
batteries is Li2FeSiO4. Coupled with graphite anode it can deliver
a 2.4 V per cell. However, before its commercialization, the low
activity at room temperature (RT) has to be solved. The main focus
of this chapter is to enunciate the importance of size effects in the
context of deliverable capacity. To attain the full capacity utilization
at RT, it is necessary for the very small particles to have close
contact with a conductive phase and structural arrangement in the
composite electrode. Thus, further improvements of the existing
synthesis methods and the introduction of even more advanced
synthesis methods are a prerequisite for the final goal to prepare
uniform particles of Li2FeSiO4 phase with particle size smaller than
20 nm.
