Small polaron hopping in Li(x)FePO4 solid solutions: coupled lithium-ion and electron mobility

Transition metal phosphates such as LiFePO(4) have been recognized as very promising electrodes for lithium-ion batteries because of their energy storage capacity combined with electrochemical and thermal stability. A key issue in these materials is to unravel the factors governing electron and ion transport within the lattice. Lithium extraction from LiFePO(4) results in a two-phase mixture with FePO(4) that limits the power characteristics owing to the low mobility of the phase boundary. This boundary is a consequence of low solubility of the parent phases, and its mobility is impeded by slow migration of the charge carriers. In principle, these limitations could be diminished in a solid solution, Li(x)FePO(4). Here, we show that electron delocalization in the solid solution phases formed at elevated temperature is due to rapid small polaron hopping and is unrelated to consideration of the band gap. We give the first experimental evidence for a strong correlation between electron and lithium delocalization events that suggests they are coupled. Furthermore, the exquisite frequency sensitivity of M?ssbauer measurements provides direct insight into the electron hopping rate.     

磷酸铁锂电池低温性能的改性方法简述

LiFePO₄电极材料具有比容量高、工作电压稳定、成本低及环境友好等优点,被视为理想的锂离子电池正极材料,是目前电动汽车主要正极材料之一。 然而在低温下LiFePO₄电池性能显著降低,限制了其在冬季和高寒地区中的使用。 研究人员分析了低温下磷酸铁锂电池性能快速下降的原因,并提出解决办法。 本文概述了提高磷酸铁锂电池低温性能的4个方法:1)脉冲电流;2)电解液添加剂;3)表面包覆;4)体相掺杂。     

溶剂热法控制合成规则的LiFePO4颗粒

采用溶剂热法在H2O和异丙醇的混合溶剂中合成橄榄石结构的磷酸铁锂(LiFePO4). 场发射扫描电镜(FESEM)结果表明, LiFePO4产品的形貌与导电添加剂密切相关, 当改变导电添加剂的种类(蔗糖、碳黑和石墨)时, 分别得到了棒状和方块状的LiFePO4颗粒. TEM和选区电子衍射(SAED)的结果表明, 棒状的LiFePO4晶体沿着[201]方向取向生长. 取向机理可能在于添加剂对晶体生长的吸附阻止作用. 充放电测试表明, 溶剂热法合成的LiFePO4(添加蔗糖)具有145.2 mAh·g-1的可逆容量和良好的循环保持能力, 且表现出优良的倍率放电性能和高温特性, 其4C放电容量为98.1 mAh·g-1, 保持了0.1C容量的67.6%, 且放电电压平台仍保持在3.12 V(vs Li/Li+).     

Local electronic structure of olivine phases of LixFePO4

Changes in the local electronic structure at atoms around Li sites in the olivine phase of LiFePO4 were studied during delithiation. Electron energy loss spectrometry was used for measuring shifts and intensities of the near-edge structure at the K-edge of O and at the L-edges of P and Fe. Electronic structure calculations were performed on these materials with a plane-wave pseudopotential code and with an atomic multiplet code with crystal fields. It is found that both Fe and O atoms accommodate some of the charge around the Li+ ion, evidently in a hybridized Fe-O state. The O 2p levels appear to be fully occupied at the composition LiFePO4. With delithiation, however, these states are partially emptied, suggestive of a more covalent bonding to the oxygen atom in FePO4 as compared to LiFePO4. The same behavior is found for the white lines at the Fe L2,3-edges, which also undergo a shift in energy upon delithiation. A charge transfer of up to 0.48 electrons is found at the Fe atoms, as determined from white line intensity variations after delithiation, while the remaining charge is compensated by O atoms. No changes are evident at the P L2,3-edges.     

Ionic liquids and oligomer electrolytes based on the B(CN)4(-) anion; ion association, physical and electrochemical properties

The role of B(CN)(4)(-) (Bison) as a component of battery electrolytes is addressed by investigating the ionic conductivity and phase behaviour of ionic liquids (ILs), ion association mechanisms, and the electrochemical stability and cycling properties of LiBison based electrochemical cells. For C(4)mpyrBison and C(2)mimBison ILs, and mixtures thereof, high ionic conductivities (3.4 ≤σ(ion)≤ 18 mS cm(-1)) are measured, which together with the glass transition temperatures (-80 ≤T(g)≤-76 °C) are found to shift systematically for most compositions. Unfortunately, poor solubility of LiBison in these ILs hinders their use as solvents for lithium salts, although good NaBison solubility offers an alternative application in Na(+) conducting electrolytes. The poor IL solubility of LiBison is predicted to be a result of a preferred monodentate ion association, according to first principles modelling, supported by Raman spectroscopy. The solubility is much improved in strongly Li(+) coordinating oligomers, for example polyethylene glycol dimethyl ether (PEGDME), with the practical performance tested in electrochemical cells. The electrolyte is found to be stable in Li/LiFePO(4) coin cells up to 4 V vs. Li and shows promising cycling performance, with a capacity retention of 99% over 22 cycles.     

LiFePO4单颗粒电化学本征性能的快速精确评测

通常需要将电活性材料与导电剂、粘接剂等辅助物质混合后,制成复合电极来评测材料的电化学性能,但辅助物质和复合电极结构可能影响评测结果的准确性. 由于单颗粒微电极可选取单一颗粒进行测试,无需加入添加剂材料,因此,采用单颗粒微电极评测材料性能可以得到材料的本征性能. 同时,单颗粒微电极还可以实现对材料的快速、精确评测. 本文利用单颗粒微电极方法测试了球形LiFePO4颗粒的循环伏安特性、循环稳定性和动力学性能. 结果表明,单颗粒微电极可以20 mV?s-1的速率快速扫描、精确测试,测得锂离子在该颗粒中的扩散系数约为2.4 ~ 3.2?10-11 cm2?s-1,电化学反应的控制步骤为锂离子的固相扩散控制. 另外,LiFePO4颗粒在该单颗粒微电极构成的电池中表现出良好的循环稳定性. 这些显示了单颗粒微电极在电极材料特性研究中的可行性.     

大功率LiFePO4/C复合材料的简易合成

本文采用碳热还原法,以廉价的FeCl3.6H2O、LiOH.H2O和NH4H2PO4为原料,以淀粉为还原剂和碳源,经600℃烧结制备了LiFePO4/C复合材料,方法重现性好且易规模化生产.采用X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电镜(SEM)和透射电镜(TEM)测试材料结构,观察材料形貌.结果表明,经600℃烧结10 h所得产物具有纯相的橄榄石型晶体结构,良好的结晶性和规整的球状形貌,粒径为60～100 nm.包覆LiFePO4晶粒的碳层厚度为2 nm左右,碳含量为5%(by mass).材料的振实密度高达1.3 g·cm-3,在0.2C倍率下首次放电比容量为162 mAh·g-1,在0.5C、1C、2C、5C和10C倍率下首次放电比容量分别为143、135、127、116和105 mAh·g-1,10C倍率下500周期循环,其比容量仍有81 mAh·g-1.     

水热还原法合成LiFePO_4及电化学性能研究

以可溶性三价铁盐FeCl3为铁源,Fe粉作还原剂,应用水热还原法合成LiFePO4.XRD、红外光谱及SEM形貌表征表明,在水热条件下,铁粉能完全将三价铁还原为二价铁,得到单一相LiFePO4,且其颗粒团聚形成花簇状;而LiFePO4经过葡萄糖的热解包覆碳生成LiFePO4/C后,颗粒转变似球状.电化学性能测试结果表明,虽然单相LiFePO4的放电容量很低,但LiFePO4/C却表现出良好的倍率性能和循环稳定性.     

一种新碳源包覆的LiFePO4/C正极材料的合成及性能

以富含植物蛋白的豆浆作为碳源, 以FePO₄·4H₂O和LiOH·H₂O为原料, 采用流变相方法合成了锂离子电池正极材料LiFePO₄/C. X射线衍射(XRD)和扫描电子显微镜(SEM)的表征结果显示, 样品具有良好的结晶性能, 平均粒径约200 nm, 颗粒表面有均匀网络状的碳包覆. 充放电循环研究结果表明: LiFePO₄/C具有稳定的电化学循环性能, LiFePO₄/C正极材料在0.1C倍率下首次放电比容量达到156 mAh·g^-1, 首次充放电效率达到98.7%; 循环40次后, 放电比容量为149 mAh·g^-1, 电池容量保持率在95%以上, 1C倍率下首次放电比容量达到134.7 mAh·g^-1, 显示出较高的电化学容量和优良的循环稳定性.     

Synthesis and Electrochemical properties of Phospho-olivine Type LiFexM(1-x)PO4(1 ≥x≥0) Compounds

Olivine-type LiFePO4 appears to be the best candidate for large size Lithium ion batteries compared with conventional cathode materials such as LiCoO2, LiNiO2 and LiMnO4 based on cost,environmental benign and safety. In addition, LiFePO4 has a large theoretical capacity of 170 mAhg-1, good cycle stability, and a flat discharge potential of 3.4V versus Li/Li+. However, its low ionic/electronic conductivity limits the electrochemical prosperities of this material, especially its rate capability. Many efforts have been devoted to increase and optimize the conductivity of LiFePO4 besides minimizing the particle size and making an intimate carbon coating around the particles, though it is not the way to change intrinsically the electrical conductivity of LiFePO4.In this research, LiFePO4 was synthesized by solid-state reaction. A discharge capacity of around 110mAhg-1 was achieved under a low current density of 17mAg-1 at room temperature. In order to compounds were prepared, respectively. As an example, LiFe0.9Ti0.1PO4 had the same XRD pattern as LiFePO4 but more developed crystalline intensity. The charge-discharge capacities of LiFe0.9Ti 0.1PO4 at the first cycle were 134mAhg-1 and 129 mAhg-1, respectively. The efficiency of charge-discharge was larger than 96%. A reversible capacity of 110 mAhg-1 was obtained after 20cycles and the capacity retention was over 85%. Moreover, the discharge voltage flat was maintained at 3.4V verse Li/Li+ after the first cycle. At even higher rates, it also exhibited good electrochemical performances.     

Large impact of particle size on insertion reactions. A case for anatase Li(x)TiO2

Insertion reactions are of key importance for Li ion and hydrogen storage materials and energy storage devices. The particle size dependence of insertion reactions has been investigated for lithiated anatase TiO2, revealing progressively increasing Li capacity and Li-ion solubility for decreasing particle sizes, strongly deviating from the expected Li-rich and Li-poor phase separation as occurs in the bulk material. The phase diagram alters significantly, changing the materials properties already at sizes as large as 40 nm. A rationale is found in the surface strain that occurs between the different intercalated phases, which becomes energetically too costly in small particles. In particular the observed particle size-induced solid solution behavior is expected to have fundamental and practical implications for two-phase lithium or hydrogen insertion reactions.     

Polymer solubility in mixed solvents

Modeling results indicate that polymer chains in mixtures of a good with a bad solvent exhibit preferential adsorption of the good solvent. That phenomenon is found to be strongly dependent on molecular weight and it increases with a decrease in chain length. These results have important consequences on polymer solubility. Thus, a low molecular weight chain in a solvent mixture behaves as if it were dissolved in the pure good solvent component, whereas the solubility of a longer chain is controlled by the average mixture composition. As a result, quenching a polydisperse system below the cloud point may induce molecular weight segregation between the two phases: the longer chains, which precipitate out first, tend to populate the polymer rich phase whereas the shorter chains, having greater solubility, remain in the solvent phase. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 2782–2787, 1999     

LiFePO4纳米晶的尺寸、形貌调控及锂电池性能研究

由于材料的电化学性能与其尺寸、形貌和结构密切相关,本文围绕乙二醇体系制备LiFePO_4纳米晶展开了材料的尺寸和形貌调控合成探索,并对材料进行了锂电池性能表征。改变体系的反应物浓度,LiFePO_4纳米晶的尺寸明显发生变化,当体系中FeSO_4的浓度为0.15mol/L时,得到的LiFePO_4纳米晶尺寸最小,其锂离子电池的容量稍高于其他尺寸的LiFePO_4纳米晶。葡萄糖的添加量对LiFePO_4纳米晶的形貌会产生影响,但对锂离子电池性能影响不大。     

HPLC of synthetic polymers

Summary Statistical copolymers of styrene and acrylonitrile have been separated by high performance precipitation chromatography according to the increase in acrylonitrile content. The separation mechanism was strongly depending on the combination of stationary phase and eluent composition. By applying a typical normal phase gradient from n-heptane (precipitation) to dichloromethane the polymers were adsorbed, after dissolution of the polar groups of the stationary phases. The elution curves became broader with increasing acrylonitrile content of the polymer. By the addition of 20% methanol to the dichloromethane the adsorption could be minimized and copolymer elution was dependent solely on solubility and independent of stationary phase polarity. Separation according to chemical composition was also possible without precipitation with a large pore silica and a normal phase gradient from dichloromethane to the same eluent containing 2.75% methanol.Part I see reference 19     

包覆碳掺CoLiFePO4正极的电化学性能研究

应用水热法在200 oC下合成了橄榄石结构LiFePO4正极材料,合成过程中添加蔗糖作为包覆用碳源,并同时掺Co. 实验表明,包覆碳掺Co能更有效地改善LiFePO4电极的电化学性能. 样品可后退火处理,400 oC 退火LiFePO4样品结晶度和颗粒尺寸均影响了其电化学性能,包覆碳掺CoLiFePO4样品可使颗粒细化,改善电极倍率性能.     

Effects of acrylonitrile water solubility on limiting conversion and copolymer composition in suspension polymerization

The effects of acrylonitrile (AN) water solubility on the limiting conversion and copolymer composition of the AN and AN/vinylidene chloride (VDC) suspension polymerization were investigated. It was found that AN dissolved in aqueous phase does not transfer back to oil phase in AN suspension homopolymerization but partially does in AN/VDC suspension copolymerization, and thus the limiting conversion is lowered and decreases with water/oil ratio increasing in both AN and AN/VDC suspension polymerization. For the continuous transport of AN in aqueous phase to oil phase during suspension polymerization, the composition distribution of AN/VDC copolymer prepared by suspension polymerization is narrower than that by bulk polymerization. The calculated composition of AN/VDC suspension copolymer with considering AN water solubility is consistent with the experimental data.     

Molecular and supramolecular dynamics of hybrid organic-inorganic interfaces for the rational construction of advanced hybrid nanomaterials

Today the capability to rationally design and construct hybrid materials utilizing a performance-property driven methodology is strongly dependent on our ability to control the structure and the dynamics of hybrid interfaces. This control needs a deep knowledge of their molecular and supramolecular dynamics that must be evaluated in situ, in the soft matter or colloidal states. For this purpose the use of modern methodologies of characterization such as time resolved synchrotron experiments and advanced pulsed field gradient NMR methods (DOSY) is particularly relevant. In this critical review, two important examples are discussed. They concern, first, the study of surface capping organic components' affinity towards nanoparticle surfaces by DOSY NMR. The knowledge and therefore the tuning of this affinity is paramount because it controls solubility, transferability and stability of colloidal dispersions of nanoparticles (NPs). In the second part, the mechanism of micellar templated formation of hybrid mesophases will be discussed in the frame of the main results obtained via in situ SAXS (107 references).     

The effect of composition drift and copolymer microstructure on mechanical bulk properties of styrene-methyl acrylate emulsion copolymers

In order to determine the influence of composition drift and copolymer microstructure on the mechanical bulk properties of styrene -methyl acrylate copolymers, several copolymers were produced by emulsion copolymerization. Three different average compositions were used. By performing the copolymerizations under batch and semicontinuous conditions with two different monomer addition strategies (starved conditions and optimal addition) it was possible to control composition drift and to produce copolymers with different microstructures (chemical composition distributions). All these copolymers were processed in a way that ensured that the original particle structure was lost before the polymers were tested. It was found that composition drift had an influence on the mechanical properties (Young's modulus, maximum stress, elongation at break). This influence could be understood very well on the basis of present knowledge about structure-mechanical properties relationships. In the case of homogeneous copolymers maximum stress and elongation at break are dependent on the molecular weight, and only weakly dependent on the chemical composition, and Young's modulus is independent of chemical composition and molecular weight in the range of compositions investigated, as expected. In the case of heterogeneous copolymers, the influence of copolymer microstructure on Young's modulus, maximum stress and elongation at break is very large. Depending on the extent of control of composition drift during the polymerizations, phase separation was observed in the processed polymers, and the presence of a rubber phase affected the properties profoundly.     

锂离子电池正极材料LiFePO4在Fe位掺杂的研究进展

橄榄石型LiFePO4是近年发展起来的一种锂离子电池正极材料,但是LiFePO4的电子导电率低和锂离子扩散速度慢限制了其实用化,需要改进.其中一种很有效的方法就是在LiFePO4的晶格中掺杂金属离子,使其产生晶格缺陷,促进Li+扩散,改善晶体内部的导电性能.LiFePO4有Li(M1)和Fe(M2)2个金属位,可使用金属离子对其改性.本文综述了对锂离子电池正极材料LiFePO4在Fe(M2)位掺杂的研究进展.LiFePO4在Fe(M2)位的掺杂主要采用Mn2+,Ni2+,Co2+,Mg2+等几种金属离子.     

Phase boundary propagation in large LiFePO4 single crystals on delithiation

Large single crystals of LiFePO(4) have been chemically delithiated. The relevance of chemical oxidation in comparison with electrochemical delithiation is discussed. Analyses of the Li content and profiles were done by electron energy loss spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry. The propagation of the FePO(4) phase growing on the surface of the large single crystal was followed by in situ optical microscopy as a function of time. The kinetics were evaluated in terms of linear irreversible thermodynamics and found to be characterized by an induction period followed by parabolic growth behavior of the FePO(4) phase indicating transport control. The growth rate was shown to depend on the crystallographic orientation. Scanning electron microscopy images showed cracks and a high porosity of the FePO(4) layer due to the significant changes in the molar volumes. The transport was found to be greatly enhanced by the porosity and crack formation and hence greatly enhanced over pure bulk transport, a result which is supposed to be very relevant for battery research if coarse-grained powder is used.