New Iron-Containing Electrode Materials for Lithium Secondary Batteries

Using a galvanostatic charge/discharge cycler and cyclic voltammetry, we investigated for the first time the electrochemical properties of iron-containing minerals, such as chalcophanite, diadochite, schwertmannite, laihuite, and tinticite, as electrode materials for lithium secondary batteries. Lithium insertion into the mineral diadochite showed a first discharge capacity of about 126 mAh/g at an average voltage of 3.0 V vs. Li/Li+, accompanied by a reversible capacity of 110 mAh/g at the 60th cycle. When the cutoff potential was down to 1.25 V, the iron was further reduced, giving rise to a new plateau at 1.3 V. Although the others showed discharge plateaus at low potentials of less than 1.6 V, these results give an important clue for the development of new electrode materials.