This work presents the synthesis of F-doped LiFePO4/C composite by the specific modification of the recently suggested synthesis procedure based on an aqueous precipitation of precursor material in molten stearic acid, followed by a high temperature treatment. Besides the lattice parameters and the primitive cell volume reductions, compared to the undoped sample synthesized under the same conditions, the Rietveld refinement also shows that fluorine ions preferably occupy specific oxygen sites. Particularly, the best refinement is accomplished when fluorine ions occupy O(2) sites exclusively. By means of up-to-date electronic structure and total energy calculations this experimental finding is theoretically confirmed. Such fluorine doping also produces closing of the gap in the electronic structure and consequently better conductivity properties of the doped compound. In addition, the morphological and electrochemical performances of the synthesized powder are fully characterized
Low intrinsic electronic conductivity is the main disadvantage of LiFePO4 when used as a cathode material in lithium ion batteries. The paper offers experimental proofs of the theoretical prediction that fluorine doping of LiFePO4 can enhance its electrical conductivity. The LiFePO4 and fluorine-doped LiFePO4 olivine type, carbon-free powders are synthesized and examined. The crystal structure refinements in the Pnma space group reveal that doping with fluorine ions preserves the olivine structure, while reducing both the lattice parameters and the antisite defect, and increasing the crystallite size. A small amount of incorporated fluorine enhances the electrical conductivity from 4.6×10−7 S cm−1 to 2.3×10−6 S cm−1 and has a positive impact on the electrochemical performance. Several spectroscopy techniques (Mössbauer, FTIR, and Raman) reveal differences between the two powders and additionally support the findings of both the Rietveld refinement and the conductivity measurements
1 February 2019 in Journal of Alloys and Compounds
Vanadium-oxide-based materials exist with various vanadium oxidation states having rich chemistry and ability to form layered structures. These properties make them suitable for different applications, including energy conversion and storage. Magnesium vanadium oxide materials obtained using simple preparation route were studied as potential cathodes for rechargeable aqueous magnesium ion batteries. Structural characterization of the synthesized materials was performed using XRD and vibrational spectroscopy techniques (FTIR and Raman spectroscopy). Electrochemical behavior of the materials, observed by cyclic voltammetry, was further explained by BVS calculations. Sluggish Mg2+ ion kinetics in MgV2O6 was shown as a result of poor electronic and ionic wiring. Complex redox behavior of the studied materials is dependent on phase composition and metal ion inserted/deinserted into/from the material. Among the studied magnesium vanadium oxides, the multiphase oxide systems exhibited better Mg2+ insertion/deinsertion performances than the single-phase ones. Carbon addition was found to be an effective dual strategy for enhancing the charge storage behavior of MgV2O6.