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Cycling performance and morphological evolution of pulsed laser-deposited FeF2 thin film cathodes for Li-ion batteries

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Abstract

Electronic conductor-free FeF2 films deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) were studied as potential cathode materials for Li-ion batteries. The correlation between microstructural evolution and electrochemical cycling of PLD FeF2 films was investigated. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (X-TEM) of the films indicates that they are composed of particles varying in size between 10 and 50 nm. 20–50 nm particles were initially deposited on the sample substrate and were not cycled, irrespective of film thickness and applied C-rate; 10 nm particles were cycled at low C-rates. Cross-sectional TEM of delithiated films shows that the reconversion process starts from the bottom to the top of the film by forming FeF2 on the 20–50 nm FeF2 particles. Galvanostatic measurements show that thinner FeF2 films have higher capacities and expansion percentages than thick films, but the measured capacity of these films is still less than the theoretical capacity. These results suggest that the cycling performance of PLD FeF2 is limited by electron transport and that the addition of an electronic conductor will increase the cycling capacity of FeF2 films.

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Acknowledgements

The corresponding author acknowledges the Scientific Research Support Fund (SRSF), Jordan, for supporting this work performed at the University of Florida.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Al-Balqa’ Applied University, Al-Salt, 19117, Jordan

    Shadi Al Khateeb

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Aaron G. Lind & K. S. Jones

  3. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, 76203, USA

    Reinaldo Santos-Ortiz & Nigel D. Shepherd

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  1. Shadi Al Khateeb
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  2. Aaron G. Lind
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  3. Reinaldo Santos-Ortiz
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  4. Nigel D. Shepherd
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  5. K. S. Jones
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Correspondence to Shadi Al Khateeb.

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Al Khateeb, S., Lind, A.G., Santos-Ortiz, R. et al. Cycling performance and morphological evolution of pulsed laser-deposited FeF2 thin film cathodes for Li-ion batteries. J Mater Sci 50, 5174–5182 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-9062-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-9062-5

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