Electrochemical Intercalation of Lithium into Carbon: A Relaxation Study

Basic kinetic parameters of electrochemical intercalation of lithium into thin carbon films are determined by relaxation methods of current and potential steps. The overall electrode polarization is theoretically and experimentally divided into kinetic and diffusion constituents. The former is connected with the hindered ion transfer in a surface solid-electrolyte layer. The latter is due to the slow diffusion of lithium inside the carbon matrix. Concentration dependences of parameters of a solid-electrolyte layer and those of the diffusion coefficient for lithium in carbon are determined at lithium concentrations in the electrode varied from 2 to 16 M. The kinetic current is dependent on polarization in the interval 0.01 to 2.5 V, the dependence being identical to that for a lithium electrode.     

Impedance spectroscopy of lithium-tin film electrodes

A method of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to study the reversible lithium intercalation from nonaqueous electrolyte into tin films with the thickness of 0.1–1 μm. The impedance spectra of lithium-tin (Li _x Sn) electrodes have a complicated shape depending on the electrode state and prehistory; they reflect the occurrence of several consecutive and parallel processes, including the lithium migration, diffusion, and accumulation. The formation of a solid-electrolyte layer on the surface at Li intercalation into Sn is observed. Equivalent circuits are proposed that adequately model the experimental data on the Li _x Sn electrodes both freshly prepared and after prolonged cycling. Problems associated with the choice of equivalent circuits and determination of their parameters, the accuracy of the diffusion coefficient determination, the trends in the parameters’ variation with electrode potential (composition) are discussed.     

Electrochemical investigation of lithium intercalation into graphite from molten lithium chloride

Lithium reduction at a graphite electrode in molten lithium chloride was studied at temperatures from 650 to 900 °C using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. It was found that, during cathodic polarization, lithium intercalation into graphite occurred before deposition of metallic lithium started. This process was confirmed to be rate-controlled by the diffusion of lithium in the graphite. When the cathodic polarization potential was more negative than that for metallic lithium deposition, exfoliation of graphite particles from the electrode surface was observed. This was caused by fast and excessive accumulation of lithium intercalated into the graphite, which produced mechanical stress too high for the graphite matrix to accommodate. The erosion process was abated once the graphite surface was covered by a continuous layer of liquid lithium. These results are of relevance to the mechanism of carbon nanotube and nanoparticle formation by electrochemical synthesis in molten lithium chloride.     

Electrochemical Intercalation of Lithium into Intermetallic Bismuth Compounds with Indium in Nonaqueous Solutions

Phase conversions and kinetics of electrochemical intercalation of lithium from dimethylformamide solutions of LiCl into bulk electrodes of bismuth, indium and their intermetallic compounds InBi and In₂Bi are studied using chronopotentiometry and chronoamperometry methods. The intercalation is controlled by non-steady-state lithium diffusion in the solid electrode. In the lithium–intermetallic compound systems, both components of alloys take part in the formation of compounds with lithium. Considerable volume changes, which occur during the intercalation, may lead to disintegration of lithium-containing phase constituents with a high lithium content. The extremum shape of cathodic chronoamperograms may be due successive and/or parallel reactions in which various lithium-containing compounds form. Some of these reactions are limited by solid-phase diffusion, while others involve the formation and diffusion-controlled growth of three-dimensional nuclei of a new phase.     

Analysis of transient permeation as a technique for determination of sorption and diffusion in supported membranes

Systematic membrane selection, process design as well as elucidation of structure–property relationships for pervaporation and vapor permeation require knowledge of sorption and diffusion properties. Direct measurement of sorption is not possible in the case of commercial membranes due to the presence of a support layer. Sorption measurements may also be difficult if the polymer is synthesized or crosslinked directly on the support and its properties are different from the bulk polymer. This work describes a technique to obtain sorption as well as diffusion parameters for supported membranes using transient permeation data. Computer simulations for transient permeation were carried out using sorption and diffusion data from the literature. It was demonstrated that the desired parameters could be estimated using data having a reasonable degree of error (±2%) by the least squares method. Alternatively, a time-lag analysis may be used instead of direct regression of the parameters by the least squares method. A general method for estimating the sorption as well as diffusion parameters using the time-lag and steady-state flux is described. Analytical solutions are derived for the various transport models, wherever possible.     

Phase Formation and Kinetics of Electrochemical Intercalation of Lithium into Intermetallic Compounds MgCd and MgCd3

Electrochemical intercalation of lithium into intermetallic compounds (IMC) MgCd and MgCd₃ out of propylene carbonate solutions of LiBF₄ is studied. According to chronopotentiometry data, during the intercalation, lithium forms compounds with cadmium: Li₃Cd on MgCd or LiCd and Li₃Cd on MgCd₃. Reactions of solid-phase substitution, which occur on the electrodes, are accompanied by the destruction of initial IMC and generation of magnesium atoms. Chronoamperometry of MgCd–(Li) and MgCd₃–(Li) shows the lithium intercalation to be limited by nonstationary diffusion of lithium in the solid phase. The lithium diffusion in MgCd is slower and that in MgCd₃is faster than in Cd. The calculated potential dependences of the diffusion coefficient for lithium in MgCd and MgCd₃ are linear in semilogarithmic coordinates.     

石墨烯嵌锂的拉曼成像

锂离子电池由于具有高能量密度,高循环寿命,低自放电率的优势,成为当前使用最为广泛的储能器件。层状材料是极为常用的负极材料,其微观嵌锂行为的研究对提高电池的能量密度和循环寿命有重要意义。本工作发展了一种新的平板微电池结构,可用于研究锂离子在各类二维层状纳米材料中的嵌锂行为。我们用机械剥离的单片少层石墨烯为正极,热蒸镀的锂金属为负极,构成石墨烯电池,用恒电压放电的方法进行嵌锂测试。采用拉曼成像技术收集石墨烯G峰信号的空间分布,实现对锂的嵌入过程的显微观测。发现了锂在石墨烯中沿层间扩散迁移,以及石墨烯断层对锂扩散的阻碍作用。这些结果有助于理解放电时锂在石墨烯电极中扩散过程,并且这项研究开发的平板微电池结构可用于多种材料的电化学过程中的微观过程表征,同时可实现与光学、电学、电子显微学等多种表征手段的兼容,具有较好的应用前景。     

Kinetics of electrochemical lithium intercalation into thin tungsten (VI) oxide layers

The methods of galvanostatic intermittent titration, cyclic voltammetry, and electrode impedance spectroscopy are used to study the behavior of tungsten (VI) oxide film electrodes free of binding and conducting additives in the course of reversible lithium intercalation from nonaqueous electrolyte at 25°C. The studies are performed for electrodes with different degrees of crystallinity at the variation of the lithium concentration in intercalate from zero to 0.017 mol/cm³. Lithium diffusion coefficient is in the range of 10^?11–10^?16 cm²/s. The concentration dependences of the intercalation-layer transport parameters are analyzed, the equivalent circuit versions are discussed, and results obtained by different methods are compared.     

Kinetics of Anodic Dissolution of Lithium out of Li x C6 Electrodes in Nonaqueous Lithium Perchlorate Solutions

Kinetics of processes occurring during anodic dissolution of Li _x C₆ electrodes formed in structures of carbonized fiber and cloth (CC) in solutions of lithium perchlorate in a mixture of propylene carbonate and dimethoxyethane is studied. It is shown that the Li _x C₆ (CC) electrodes have an approximately three times greater intercalation capacity, which is caused by specific features of the structure of CC. Values of the initial concentration of lithium defects in the structure of a surface layer of the CC matrix and the diffusion coefficients for lithium in the temperature range 293–323 K are calculated.     

First-principles study of the effect of mechanical strength on ion transport in La-doped LiF-SEI on the Li (001) surface

The solid electrolyte interface (SEI) plays an important role in the lithium–sulfur battery system. It not only protects the stability of the lithium metal anode interface but also inhibits the growth of lithium dendrites during charge and discharge. The relationship between the shape of the SEI and the transport behavior of lithium ions affects the homogeneity of lithium dendrites. In this work, first-principles calculations are used to determine the stable structure and transport properties of the La-doped LiF solid electrolyte interface (La–LiF SEI) on the Li substrate. For the vertical transport of Li ions within the La–LiF SEI, the transport of Li ions in the grain boundary and that in the crystal grain was calculated separately. Regarding the plane diffusion behavior of Li ions between the La–LiF SEI and the lithium anode, the diffusion of Li ions on the surface and interface of the lithium anode were calculated. The effect of critical tensile strain on the diffusion of Li ions on the surface and interface was investigated. The results show that doping with La solves the problem of excessive periodic grain boundary gaps caused by the difference between LiF and Li lattices during the deposition process. The periodic gap is reduced from 0.478 nm to 0.306 nm after La doping. By comparing the migration energy barriers of each path, it is found that lithium ions are more likely to be inserted and extracted at the La–LiF SEI grain boundary. The reason is that the existence of the rare earth element La causes the grain boundary to have a more stable vacancy structure and a smaller transport energy barrier (0.789 eV). The critical tensile strain reduces the diffusion energy barrier (0.813 eV) of Li ions on the surface of the lithium metal anode, which promotes the fast diffusion and uniform deposition of Li ions between the interfaces. The establishment of SEI transport characteristics under the coupling conditions of mechanical stretching and ion transport is expected to improve the Li deposition behavior.     

锂离子在石墨负极材料中扩散系数的测定

锂离子电池是以各种碳材料为负极而起来的一 种新型电池,成功地解决了以 为负极瓣锂可充电电池的安全性问题,已经应用于锂离子电池的负极材料有石墨和石油焦炭,正在研究的负极材料有热解碳,石墨化碳纤维,硼炭或硼炭氮化合物以及锡基氧化物等[1],石墨的比容量要比石油焦炭的比容量高一倍左右,其理论比容量372mA.h.g^-1,但锂离子在石墨材料中的扩散系数比较低,限制了以其为负极材料的电池的大电流充放电能力,锂离子在电极材料中的扩散系数可以用多种电化学方法测量得到,主要有：电位间歇滴定方法（PITT）（Potentiostatic Intermittent Titratiobn Technique)^[2,3,4,6],恒电流间歇滴定法（GITT）（Galvanostatic Intermittent Titration Technology)^[6],电流脉冲松弛法（CPR）（Current Pulse Relaxation Method)^[3,6]和交流阻抗法（A－C Technology)^[4,5,6],GITT,CPR,A-C等方法测定锂离子扩散系数时,由于相变发生处dE/dy值不容易准确得到（相变时,dE/dy→0）,此时测得的扩散系数误差比较大,PITT方法测定锂离子扩展系统,不存在这个问题,能比较准确地测定整个嵌入组成范围内的锂离子扩散系数。     

Transient phoretic migration of a permselective colloidal particle

We quantify the phoretic migration of a spherical cation-permselective colloidal particle immersed in a binary electrolyte under a time-dependent electric field. We invoke the thin-Debye-layer approximation, where the size of ionic Debye layer enveloping the particle is much smaller than the particle radius. The imposed electric field generates ion concentration gradients, or concentration polarization, in the bulk (electroneutral) electrolyte outside the Debye layer. The bulk ion concentration polarization--and consequently the particle's phoretic velocity--evolves on the time scale for ion diffusion around the particle, which can be on the order of milliseconds for typical colloidal dimensions. Notably, concentration polarization arises here solely due to the permselectivity of the particle; it does not require non-uniform ionic transport in the Debye layer (i.e., surface conduction). Thus, the phoretic transport of a permselective particle is significantly different to that of a inert, dielectric particle, since surface conduction is necessary to achieve bulk concentration polarization in the (more commonly studied) latter case. Calculations are presented for a permselective particle under oscillatory (ac) and suddenly applied electric fields. In the former case, the particle velocity possesses frequency-dependent components in phase and out of phase with the driving field; in the latter case, the particle approaches its terminal velocity with a long-time (algebraic) tail.     

Lithium intercalation into amorphous-silicon thin films: An electrochemical-impedance study

Lithium intercalation into 0.25-μm-thick films of amorphous silicon is studied using the electrochemical-impedance technique. An equivalent circuit, proposed for such electrodes, comprises the electrolyte resistance and three units connected in series, each unit being a parallel combination of a resistance and a constant-phase element. The units relate to the charge transfer processes at the silicon/electrolyte interface, charge transfer though the passive film on the silicon, and the lithium diffusion into the silicon bulk. During potential cycling, changes occur largely in the unit related to the passive film. The lithium diffusion coefficient in the amorphous silicon is estimated as ～ 10^?13 cm² s^?1.     

The Diffusion Coefficient of Lithium Ions into Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite

The diffusion coefficient of lithium in graphite is an important parameter for the use of graphite because it relates to the ability of charge and discharge rate of lithium battery. It remains a problem that there are often obvious differences among the diffusion coefficients obtained using different methods, even in one paper^[1,2]. This difference may attribute to the complicate properties of intercalation process, as well as some uncertain parameters of the porous structure electrode. In order to measure the diffusion coefficient of lithium in carbon more precisely, a well crystallized material Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite (HOPG) was used as the material of working electrode in this study.     

Effect of Temperature on the Impedance of a Lithium/Nonaqueous Solution Interface

Impedance of a lithium electrode in a lithium perchlorate solution in a propylene carbonate + dimethoxyethane mixed solvent is measured at 0.1–200 kHz and 0–55°C. The impedance is determined by electrical processes occurring in the passive solid-electrolyte film on the lithium surface. The temperature dependences of parameters of the equivalent circuit related to the passive film are described by Arrhenius-type exponential functions. The activation energies for the conduction and diffusion and the energy of formation of mobile charge carriers in the solid-electrolyte layer are determined.     

REDOX POTENTIALS AND DIFFUSION OF LITHIUM IN LAMELLAR COMPOUNDS

Abstract

Themodynamic and dynamic properties of intercalation products of lithium into MoS₂ are strongly determined by the coordination of lithium in the interlaminar spaces. Lithium redox potentials as well as lithium diffusion coefficients in MoS₂ pure, exfoliated, as well as in compounds where lithium is co-intercalated with the polymeric electron pair donors, poly(ethylene oxide) and poly-acrylonitrile, and discrete species, OH^? ions and secondary amines, were analyzed comparatively. Reduction potentials in pure or exfoliated MoS₂ are always much lower than those observed in lithium-donor co-intercalates. Thus, donors appear to effectively stabilize higher lithium oxidation states. The donors also influence lithium migration properties, with lithium diffusion coefficients in general higher than in pure MoS₂. Lithium diffusion activation energy in pure MoS₂ is constant in a relatively large lithium concentration range, while for co-intercalates it often depends on lithium intercalation degree. These more complex diffusion mechanisms probably arise from changes in the donor conformation in the interlaminar spaces, which affect the lithium first coordination sphere.     

Surface analysis of a cold leg section of an SS316-lithium loop

Compatibility studies of austenitic stainless steel AISI 316 with liquid lithium for fusion application have shown that a porous ferritic layer is formed on the surface of the steel in the hot leg of a loop experiment due to depletion of alloying elements. The concentration profiles of the removed elements across the cross section of the tube reveal a pronounced step between the austenite matrix and the porous ferrite which is not expected in a normal diffusion process. The removed elements are partly deposited on the surface of the cold leg.In this study we looked at the boundary between the nickel rich deposit and the original matrix of a section of the cold (435 °C) leg. On the surface of the austenite, the expected grain boundary attack of lithium was observed. Additionally, to a depth of about one grain size, chromium and molybdenum were depleted and lithium seemed to also have attacked the bulk material, resulting in a splitting up into smaller grains with decomposed concentrations of the alloying elements, i.e. iron with large amounts of nickel and iron with chromium and small nickel amounts.In this paper a suggestion is put forward describing a reaction mechanism leading to the porous layer in the hot leg as a result of the instability of AISI 316 and its decomposition into two phases under the influence of liquid lithium.Dedicated to Professor Günther Tölg on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Confinement of surface patterning in azo-polymer thin films

Azobenzene polymer thin films are known to spontaneously generate surface patterns in response to incident light gradients. This peculiar process is investigated in terms of the dynamics of the various azobenzene photomotions, which occur on different length scales. In particular, the formation and thermal erasure of surface relief gratings are measured as a function of film thickness and by using combinatorial samples with thickness gradients. The thermal erasure of gratings in this system provides a direct measure of the glass-transition temperature, which is found to deviate substantially from the bulk value. Thin azo films exhibit a glass transition up to 50 K higher than the bulk. These dynamical measurements allow the authors to probe the length scale of mass transport, which is found to be approximately 150 nm. Furthermore, surface mass transport is completely arrested in thin films<40 nm. According to these results, mass transport involves the coordinated motion of many polymer chains in the depth of the sample, rather than surface diffusion of individual chains.     

Determination of diffusion coefficient of lithium in substituted LiMn1.95Cr0.05O4 spinel using impedance technique

Electrodiffusion properties of chromium-substituted lithium-manganese spinel Li _x Mn_1.95Cr_0.05O₄ intended for application as a cathodic material for lithium-ion batteries is studied. The studies are carried out at 25°C using the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy technique in alkyl-carbonate electrolyte. In the analysis of impedance spectra, the apparatus of electric equivalent circuits was employed to determine surface layer resistances, double electric layer capacitance, differential intercalation capacity, chemical diffusion coefficient D of lithium, and other electrode characteristics. The issues of substantiating the choice of electric equivalent circuits and correct interpretation of their elements are discussed; dependences of the calculated model parameters on the electrode potential (lithium concentration in the electrode) are analyzed. The chemical diffusion coefficient of Li⁺ in Li _x Mn_1.95Cr_0.05O₄ found on the basis of the impedance spectra is in the range of 10^?9 to 10^?12 cm²/s under electrode potential variation in the range of 3.5–4.5 V (vs. Li/Li⁺) with a pronounced minimum of D in the middle of this range. Repeated cycling of the electrode is accompanied by a gradual increase in resistance of the solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI).