Kinetic pathways of ionic transport in fast-charging lithium titanate
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Fast-charging batteries typically use electrodes capable of accommodating lithium continuously by means of solid-solution transformation because they have few kinetic barriers apart from ionic diffusion. One exception is lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12), an anode exhibiting extraordinary rate capability apparently inconsistent with its two-phase reaction and slow Li diffusion in both phases. Through real-time tracking of Li+ migration using operando electron energy-loss spectroscopy, we reveal that facile transport in Li4+xTi5O12 is enabled by kinetic pathways comprising distorted Li polyhedra in metastable intermediates along two-phase boundaries. Our work demonstrates that high-rate capability may be enabled by accessing the energy landscape above the ground state, which may have fundamentally different kinetic mechanisms from the ground-state macroscopic phases. This insight should present new opportunities in searching for high-rate electrode materials.
- Research Organization:
- Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Transportation Office. Vehicle Technologies Office
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0012704; AC02-05CH11231
- OSTI ID:
- 1601347
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1807475
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-213640-2020-JAAM
- Journal Information:
- Science, Vol. 367, Issue 6481; ISSN 0036-8075
- Publisher:
- AAASCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
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