Toward a High Temperature V6O13 Based Lithium-Ion Battery

Abstract

V6O13 is a promising Li-ion battery cathode material for application in the high temperature oil field environment. The material exhibits a high capacity, and the voltage profile contains several plateaus due to complex and still unresolved transformations.1 The mechanisms behind the transformations that take place during these voltage plateaus are central to understanding and improving battery performance. In this study we present in situ X-ray diffraction data that highlight an asymmetric six-step discharge and five-step charge process (Figure 1). The LixV6O13 unit cell expands sequentially in c, b, and a directions during discharge and reversely shrinks back during charge. This result sheds light on the high specific capacity of V6O13 and lays the foundation for this material to be used as a cathode for secondary lithium batteries both at ambient and high temperature. Figure 1