Investigation of Physical and Electrochemical Properties of β-TaxNb1-xPO5 as an Electrode Material for Lithium Batteries

The effect of intrinsic phase transitions and substitutions on the structural and electrochemical properties of monoclinic beta-NbPO5 as an electrode material for lithium or lithium-ion batteries is explored for the first time. Isolation of lower voltage phase transitions of the pure beta-NbPO5 was found to be highly effective in improving the long-term cycling stability of the material. An analogous impact to cycling stability was identified through the use of effective solid solutions based on cations such as Ta5+. Resulting materials exhibited excellent cycling stability, exceptionally low first cycle irreversible loss, and excellent 20C rate capability without the need for carbonaceous nano composites.