Real-time investigation of the structural evolution of electrodes in a commercial lithium-ion battery containing a V-added LiFePO4 cathode using in-situ neutron powder diffraction

In-situ neutron powder diffraction was employed to investigate the structural evolution of the electrode materials in a commercial lithium-ion battery used for electric buses in Taiwan. The battery, containing a vanadium-added LiFePO4 cathode, does not exhibit a delayed phase transition between LiFePO4 (triphylite) and FePO4 (heterosite) suggesting that the delayed phase transition can be suppressed through the use of vanadium-added LiFePO4 cathodes, which also enhances the capacity and prolongs the cycle life of these batteries. Furthermore, we characterize the readily reversible structural change of the anode (LixC6 where 0 < x <= 1) and correlate this to battery voltage. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.