Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Peebles, Cameron.
This invention relates to an electrolyte composition for a lithium ion battery comprising a lithium salt in a non-aqueous solvent containing an additive comprising a compound of formula R 3 SiOP(O) n F 2 ; wherein each R independently is a hydrocarbyl group; and n is 0 or 1; and wherein the additive is substantially free from (R 3 SiO) 3 P(O) n and (R 3 SiO) 2 P(O) n F. Electrochemical cells and batteries also are described.
The lithium-ion cathode material olivine LiFePO 4 (LFP) has been synthesized for the first time from natural paleozoic iron carbonate (FeCO 3 ). The ferrous carbonate starting material consists of the mineral siderite at about 92 wt. % purity. Because FeCO 3 has divalent iron, the reaction with lithium dihydrogen phosphate (LiH 2 PO 4 ) provides a unique method to develop iron-(II) containing LFP in an inert atmosphere. Since siderite FeCO 3 is a common mineral that can be directly mined, it may, therefore, provide an inexpensive route for the production of LFP. After carbon-coating, the LFP yields a capacity in the range of 80–110 mAh g -1 LFP (in one chosen specimen sample), which is lower than commercially available LiFePO 4 (150–160 mAh g -1 LFP ). However, the tap density of LFP derived from siderite is noticeably high at 1.65 g cm -3 . The material is likely to be improved with powder purification, nanosized processing, and more complete carbon-coating coverage with increased optimization.