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Title: Defects in Microwave Solvothermally Grown Phospho-Olivine Nanoparticles

Journal Article · · Journal of Solid State Chemistry

Microwave solvothermally (MW-ST) synthesized crystalline nanopowders of LiFePO4 have been structurally characterized using a combination of high resolution powder neutron diffraction, synchrotron X-ray diffraction and HAADF STEM images. The presence of a significant level of defects has been verified for the samples prepared at 255 oC and 275 oC. These temperatures are significantly higher than what has previously been suggested to be the maximum temperature for defect formation in LiFePO4, and their presence likely relates to the rapid synthesis provided by the MW-ST approach. A defect model has been tentatively proposed, though it has been shown that powder diffraction data alone cannot conclusively determine the precise defect distribution in LiFePO4 samples. The model is consistent with other literature reports on nanopowders synthesized at low temperatures, in which the unit cell volume is significantly reduced relative to defect-free, micron-sized LiFePO4 powders.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Shared Research Equipment Collaborative Research Center; Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Spallation Neutron Source (SNS)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
DOE Contract Number:
DE-AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1092234
Journal Information:
Journal of Solid State Chemistry, Vol. 205; ISSN 0022-4596
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English