Nucleation-growth induced phase transformation during delithiation/lithiation of 'ultra-small' LiFePO4 nanoparticles decorating carbon nanotubes. (November 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Satam, Mahesh K.; Natarajan, Rampradesh; Kobi, Sushobhan; Jangid, Manoj K.; Krishnan, Yaadhav; Mukhopadhyay, Amartya
• Is Part Of: Scripta materialia. Volume 124(2016)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 5
• Publication Date: 2016-11
• Subjects: LiFePO4 nanoparticles -- Carbon nanotubes -- Nanosize effects -- Voltage hysteresis -- First-order phase transformation; Materials -- Periodicals; Metallurgy -- Periodicals; Metalen; Legeringen; Materiaalkunde; Metals, metalworking and machinery industries; Metals; Electronic journals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scriptamat.2016.06.036
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1359-6462

Abstract

Abstract: 'Ultra-small' LiFePO4 nanoparticles (~ 5 nm) 'decorating' multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been developed, possibly for the first time, via engineered but facile sol-gel route. During delithiation/lithiation, nucleation-growth induced first-order phase transformation between LiFePO4 and FePO4 could be experimentally evidenced, albeit only in the presence of MWCNTs, even for these particle sizes, which are significantly finer compared to the predicted lower limit of ~ 20 nm for complete disappearance of the concerned miscibility gap. This first report on experimental evidences for occurrences of these (LiFePO4 ↔ FePO4 ) phase transformations at such (nano)particle sizes is expected to throw new insights into the still debated phenomenon. Graphical abstract: