Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have confirmed
the particle-by-particle mechanism by which lithium ions move in and out of
electrodes made of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4, or LFP), findings that
could lead to better performance in lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles,
medical equipment and aircraft.
The research is reported in an article entitled, “Intercalation
Pathway in Many-Particle LiFePO4 Electrode Revealed by Nanoscale
State-of-Charge Mapping” in the journal Nano Letters, 2013, 13 (3), pp 866-872.
Authors include Sandia physicist Farid El Gabaly and William Chueh of Stanford
University.