The Secret Life of LiFePO4 Particles

Abstract

In a recent issue of Nature Materials, Yiyang Li, Saiful Islam, Martin Bazant, William Chueh, and colleagues identify the major role of solvent-assisted lithium migration in LiFePO4 particles along the solid/liquid interface using a combination of X-ray diffraction, microscopy experiments, and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. This finding suggests that at the particle scale LiFePO4 effectively becomes a three-dimensional Li conductor, and follow-up phase-field simulations suggest that lowering surface diffusivity is a predominant factor in determining the bulk phase transformation behavior during cycling.