Phase Transition Analysis between LiFePO4 and FePO4 by In-Situ Time-Resolved X-ray Absorption and X-ray Diffraction

Abstract

In-situ time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) are applied to investigate the phase transition mechanism between LiFePO4 and FePO4. Phase formation kinetics is discussed by using the phase fractions of LiFePO4 and FePO4 directly obtained from the XRD measurement and the amount of the passed current synchronized by the XRD measurement with Kolmogorov-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami (KJMA) analysis. For both of the lithium extraction and insertion process, the KJMA analysis from the XRD and amount of the passed current data indicate that the phase formation of LiFePO4 and FePO4 proceeds via one-dimensional phase boundary movement. For the lithium extraction process, the two phase coexistence of LiFePO4 and FePO4 is observed under the potential step conditions, and the KJMA plot based on the passed current data is relatively in good agreement with the one based on the XRD data. On the other hand, for the lithium insertion process, considerable peak boarding which implies intermediate state formation during the phase transition occurs, and the LiFePO4 phase formation is delayed compared with the amount of the passed current, especially in the case of small particle size. These results indicate that the phase transition behavior during lithium insertion is different from that of the typical two phase reaction.