Biosynthesis and characterization of mesoporous organic–inorganic hybrid iron phosphate

Mesoporous organic–inorganic hybrid iron phosphate has been synthesized by a precipitation method with yeast cells as biotemplate. The yeast cells are used to regulate the nucleation and growth of iron phosphate. The small-angle X-ray diffraction (SXRD) patterns show a short-range ordered structure in the dried and calcined samples. The BJH (Barrett–Joyner–Halenda) models reveal that the average pore sizes are at 13.9 nm for dried sample and at 14.8 nm for calcined sample. The sample calcined at 300 °C has the highest specific surface area of 146.2 m2 g−1. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses reveal a wormhole-like mesoporous structure in the samples. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra are used to analyze the chemical bond linkages in hybrid mesoporous FePO4 materials. The FePO4 coated carbon has higher conductivity than uncoated one, which has potential use for lithium battery materials.