Pilot-scale continuous synthesis of a vanadium-doped LiFePO4/C nanocomposite high-rate cathodes for lithium-ion batteries

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2015.10.068

Authors: Ian D. Johnson (UCL) , Mechthild Lübke (UCL) , On Ying Wu (UCL) , Neel M. Makwana (UCL) , Glen Smales (University College London (UCL)) , Husn Islam (UCL) , Rashmi Y. Dedigama (UCL) , Robert I. Gruar (UCL) , Christopher Tighe (UCL Chemistry) , David O. Scanlon (University College London; Diamond Light Source) , Furio Corà (UCL) , Dan J.l. Brett (UCL) , Paul Shearing (University College London) , Jawwad Darr (University College London)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Journal Of Power Sources , VOL 302 , PAGES 410 - 418

State: Published (Approved)
Published: January 2016
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 12093

Abstract: A high performance vanadium-doped LiFePO4 (LFP) electrode is synthesized using a continuous hydrothermal method at a production rate of 6 kg per day. The supercritical water reagent rapidly generates core/shell nanoparticles with a thin, continuous carbon coating on the surface of LFP, which aids electron transport dynamics across the particle surface. Vanadium dopant concentration has a profound effect on the performance of LFP, where the composition LiFe0.95V0.05PO4, achieves a specific discharge capacity which is among the highest in the comparable literature (119 mA h g−1 at a discharge rate of 1500 mA g−1). Additionally, a combination of X-ray absorption spectroscopy analysis and hybrid-exchange density functional theory, suggest that vanadium ions replace both phosphorous and iron in the structure, thereby facilitating Li+ diffusion due to Li+ vacancy generation and changes in the crystal structure.

Journal Keywords: Lithium-Ion Battery; Phosphate; Doped; Continuous Hydrothermal Synthesis; High Power; Cathode

Diamond Keywords: Batteries; Lithium-ion

Subject Areas: Chemistry, Materials, Energy


Instruments: B18-Core EXAFS

Added On: 28/11/2015 19:55

Discipline Tags:

Energy Storage Energy Physical Chemistry Energy Materials Chemistry Materials Science

Technical Tags:

Spectroscopy X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS)