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Title: Probing the failure mechanism of nanoscale LiFePO₄ for Li-ion batteries

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4921628· OSTI ID:1208728
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [1];  [3];  [1]
  1. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
  2. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Energy and Environmental Directorate; Beijing Jiaotong University (China). School of Electrical Engineering, National Active Distribution Network Technology Research Center
  3. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Energy and Environmental Directorate

LiFePO4 is a high power rate cathode material for lithium ion battery and shows remarkable capacity retention, featuring a 91% capacity retention after 3300 cycles. In this work, we use high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) to study the gradual capacity fading mechanism of LiFePO4 materials. We found that upon prolonged electrochemical cycling of the battery, the LiFePO4 cathode shows surface amorphization and loss of oxygen species, which directly contribute to the gradual capacity fading of the battery. The finding is of great importance for the design and improvement of new LiFePO4 cathode for high-energy and high-power rechargeable battery for electric transportation.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1208728
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1226747
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-109000; APPLAB; 48688
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 106, Issue 20; ISSN 0003-6951
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 13 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (15)

Conflicting Roles of Nickel in Controlling Cathode Performance in Lithium Ion Batteries journal September 2012
Local electronic structure of LiFePO4 nanoparticles in aged Li-ion batteries journal October 2011
Calculations of Li-Ion Diffusion in Olivine Phosphates journal September 2011
Fe valence determination and Li elemental distribution in lithiated FeO0.7F1.3/C nanocomposite battery materials by electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) journal January 2012
LiCoO2: formation, structure, lithium and oxygen nonstoichiometry, electrochemical behaviour and transport properties journal May 2004
Long-term cyclability of LiFePO4/carbon composite cathode material for lithium-ion battery applications journal October 2009
Electronically conductive phospho-olivines as lithium storage electrodes journal September 2002
Size Effects on Carbon-Free LiFePO[sub 4] Powders journal January 2006
Atomic resolution of lithium ions in LiCoO2 journal June 2003
Mitigating Voltage Fade in Cathode Materials by Improving the Atomic Level Uniformity of Elemental Distribution journal April 2014
Kinetics of non-equilibrium lithium incorporation in LiFePO4 journal July 2011
Lithium deintercalation in LiFePO4 nanoparticles via a domino-cascade model journal July 2008
Hierarchically Porous Monolithic LiFePO 4 /Carbon Composite Electrode Materials for High Power Lithium Ion Batteries journal November 2009
Formation of the Spinel Phase in the Layered Composite Cathode Used in Li-Ion Batteries journal December 2012
Particle Size Dependence of the Ionic Diffusivity journal October 2010

Cited By (1)

First-Principles Study of the Impact of Grain Boundary Formation in the Cathode Material LiFePO4 journal September 2019

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