Abstract
High-energy conversion electrodes undergo successive Li insertion and conversion during lithiation. A primary scientific obstacle to harnessing the potentially high lithium storage capabilities of conversion electrode materials has been the formation of insulating new phases throughout the conversion reactions. These new phases are chemically stable, and electrochemically irreversible if formed in large amounts with coarsening. Herein, we synthesized FeOF conversion material as a model system and mechanistically demonstrate that a thin solid electrolyte [lithium phosphorus oxynitride (LiPON)] atomic layer deposition-deposited on the composite electrode extends the Li insertion process to higher concentrations, delaying the onset of a parasitic chemical conversion reaction and rendering the redox reaction of the protected conversion electrode electrochemically reversible. Reversibility is demonstrated to at least 100 cycles, with the LiPON protective coating increasing capacity retention from 29 to 89% at 100 cycles. Pursuing the chemical mechanism behind the boosted electrochemical reversibility, we conducted electron energy-loss spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, and electrochemical measurements that unrevealed the suppression of undesired phase formation and extended lithium insertion of the coated electrode. Support for the delayed consequences of the conversion reaction is also obtained by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Our findings strongly suggest that undesired new phase formation upon lithiation of electrode materials can be suppressed in the presence of a thin protection layer not only on the surface of the coated electrode but also in the bulk of the material through mechanical confinement that modulates the electrochemical reaction.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 8780-8791 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Chemistry of Materials |
Volume | 29 |
Issue number | 20 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 24 Oct 2017 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2017 American Chemical Society.
Funding
This work has been supported by Nanostructures for Electrical Energy Storage (NEES), an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Contract DESC0001160. We acknowledge the support of the University of Maryland Nanocenter and its AIMLab. We thank Prof. Asher Schmidt (Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel) for providing access to the 500 MHz NMR spectrometer used in this study. M.N. and M.L. acknowledge the Planning & Budgeting Committee of the Council of High Education and the Prime Minister Office of Israel, in the framework of the INREP project.
Funders | Funder number |
---|---|
Nanostructures for Electrical Energy Storage | |
Office of Basic Energy Sciences | DESC0001160 |
University of Maryland Nanocenter | |
U.S. Department of Energy | |
Office of Science |