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Lithium Iron Phosphate Powders and Coatings Obtained by Means of Inductively Coupled Thermal Plasma

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Abstract

Lithium-ion batteries have high energy efficiency and good cycling life and are considered as one of the best energy storage device for hybrid and/or electrical vehicle. Still, several problems must be solved prior to a broad adoption by the automotive industry: energy density, safety, and costs. To enhance both energy density and safety, the current study aims at depositing binder-free cathode materials using inductively coupled thermal plasma. In a first step, lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) powders are synthesized in an inductively coupled thermal plasma reactor and dispersed in a conventional polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) binder. Then, binder-free LiFePO4 coatings are directly deposited onto nickel current collectors by solution precursor plasma spraying (SPPS). The morphology, microstructure, and composition of the synthesized LiFePO4 powders and coatings are fully characterized by electronic microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Quantifying Li with XPS requires the substitution of iron with manganese in the SPPS precursors (LiMPO4, where M = Fe or Mn). The plasma-derived cathodes (with and without PVDF binder) are assembled in button cells and tested. Under optimized plasma conditions, cyclic voltammetry shows that the electrochemical reversibility of plasma-derived cathodes is improved over that of conventional sol-gel-derived LiFePO4 cathodes.

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Acknowledgments

The financial support by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC RGPIN-2014-05928) and the Université de Sherbrooke is gratefully acknowledged. The authors also appreciate the helpful technical support of Kossi Béré, Charles Bertrand, and Sonia Blais, as well as fruitful discussions with Professor François Gitzhofer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 Boul. de l’Université, Sherbrooke, QC, J1K 2R1, Canada

    K. Major & G. Brisard

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnological Engineering, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 Boul. de l’Université, Sherbrooke, QC, J1K 2R1, Canada

    J. Veilleux

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  1. K. Major
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  2. J. Veilleux
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  3. G. Brisard
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Correspondence to J. Veilleux.

Additional information

This article is an invited paper selected from presentations at the 2015 International Thermal Spray Conference, held on May 11-14, 2015, in Long Beach, California, USA, and has been expanded from the original presentation.

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Major, K., Veilleux, J. & Brisard, G. Lithium Iron Phosphate Powders and Coatings Obtained by Means of Inductively Coupled Thermal Plasma. J Therm Spray Tech 25, 357–364 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-015-0289-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-015-0289-0

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