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Title: Fluid-enhanced surface diffusion controls intraparticle phase transformations

Journal Article · · Nature Materials
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [3]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [4];  [4];  [4];  [6];  [4]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [3];  [7];  [8];  [2];  [9];  [3]
  1. Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)
  2. Univ. of Bath, Bath (United Kingdom)
  3. Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
  4. Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States)
  5. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
  6. National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana (Slovenia)
  7. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  8. Univ. of Ljubljana, Ljubljana (Slovenia)
  9. Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States); Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)

Phase transformations driven by compositional change require mass flux across a phase boundary. In some anisotropic solids, however, the phase boundary moves along a non-conductive crystallographic direction. One such material is LiXFePO4, an elec- trode for lithium-ion batteries. With poor bulk ionic transport along the direction of phase separation, it is unclear how lithium migrates during phase transformations. Here, we show that lithium migrates along the solid/liquid interface without leaving the particle, whereby charge carriers do not cross the double layer. X-ray diffraction and microscopy experiments as well as ab initio molecular dynamics simulations show that organic solvent and water molecules promote this surface ion diffusion, effectively rendering LiXFePO4 a three-dimensional lithium-ion conductor. Phase-field simulations capture the effects of sur- face diffusion on phase transformation. Lowering surface diffusivity is crucial towards supressing phase separation. This work establishes fluid-enhanced surface diffusion as a key dial for tuning phase transformation in anisotropic solids.

Research Organization:
SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-76SF00515; AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1490653
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1512363
Journal Information:
Nature Materials, Vol. 17, Issue 10; ISSN 1476-1122
Publisher:
Springer Nature - Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 75 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (8)

Toward High‐Performance Hybrid Zn‐Based Batteries via Deeply Understanding Their Mechanism and Using Electrolyte Additive journal June 2019
Interphases in Electroactive Suspension Systems: Where Chemistry Meets Mesoscale Physics journal April 2019
A mechanism of defect-enhanced phase transformation kinetics in lithium iron phosphate olivine journal December 2019
Surface phonons of lithium ion battery active materials journal January 2019
Correlative imaging of ionic transport and electronic structure in nano Li 0.5 FePO 4 electrodes journal January 2020
Hollow single-crystalline octahedra of hydrated/dehydrated hydroxyl ferric phosphate and crystal-water-enhanced electrochemical properties of the hydrated sample for reversible lithiation–delithiation journal January 2019
Surface phonons of lithium ion battery active materials text January 2019
Interphases in Electroactive Suspension Systems: Where Chemistry Meets Mesoscale Physics journal July 2019

Figures / Tables (5)


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