Abstract
Surfaces of active materials are understood to play an important role in the performance and lifetime of lithium-ion batteries, but they remain poorly characterized and therefore cannot yet be systematically designed. Here, we combine inelastic neutron scattering and ab initio simulations to demonstrate that the structure of the surface of active materials differs from the interior of the particle. We use LiFePO 4 (LFP) as a model system, and we find that carbon coating influences the Li-O bonding on the (010) LFP surface relative to the bulk. Our results highlight how coatings can be used to systematically engineer the vibrations of atoms at the surface of battery active materials, and thereby impact lithium ion transport, charge transfer, and surface reactivity.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 508-513 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Sustainable Energy and Fuels |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 7 Jan 2019 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Feb 2019 |
Funding
The authors acknowledge funding from the European Research Council (Project number 680700), the EPSRC Supergen Energy Storage Hub (EP/L019469/1) and the Swedish Research Council (VR) through a neutron project grant (Dnr. 2016-06955). We thank Nukem Isotopes for providing us with 7-LiOH. This work is partially based on experiments performed at the Swiss spallation neutron source SINQ, Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen, Switzerland.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Energy Engineering and Power Technology
- Fuel Technology
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
