1. Lithium deintercalation in LiFePO4 nanoparticles via a domino-cascade model
- Author
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F. Le Cras, Claude Delmas, Laurence Croguennec, M. Maccario, François Weill, Institut de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Bordeaux (ICMCB), Université de Bordeaux (UB)-Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux-Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire Composants pour l?Energie, Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), and Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux-Université de Bordeaux (UB)
- Subjects
Reaction mechanism ,Materials science ,Iron ,Intercalation (chemistry) ,Nucleation ,Ionic bonding ,chemistry.chemical_element ,Nanotechnology ,02 engineering and technology ,010402 general chemistry ,Electrochemistry ,01 natural sciences ,Phosphates ,Deintercalation ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Electron microscopy ,General Materials Science ,Nanomaterials ,Mechanical Engineering ,Lithium iron phosphate ,Elastic energy ,General Chemistry ,[CHIM.MATE]Chemical Sciences/Material chemistry ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,Condensed Matter Physics ,0104 chemical sciences ,X-ray diffraction ,chemistry ,Lithium batteries ,Mechanics of Materials ,Chemical physics ,Lithium ,0210 nano-technology - Abstract
International audience; Lithium iron phosphate is one of the most promising positive-electrode materials for the next generation of lithium-ion batteries that will be used in electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Lithium deintercalation (intercalation) proceeds through a two-phase reaction between compositions very close to LiFePO4 and FePO4. As both endmember phases are very poor ionic and electronic conductors, it is difficult to understand the intercalation mechanism at the microscopic scale. Here, we report a characterization of electrochemically deintercalated nanomaterials by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy that shows the coexistence of fully intercalated and fully deintercalated individual particles. This result indicates that the growth reaction is considerably faster than its nucleation. The reaction mechanism is described by a 'domino-cascade model' and is explained by the existence of structural constraints occurring just at the reaction interface: the minimization of the elastic energy enhances the deintercalation (intercalation) process that occurs as a wave moving through the entire crystal. This model opens new perspectives in the search for new electrode materials even with poor ionic and electronic conductivities.
- Published
- 2008
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