Phase transitions occurring upon lithium insertion-extraction of LiCoPO4

In situ synchrotron diffraction revealed a stepwise appearance of two new phases upon electrochemical lithium extraction from LiCoPO4. These phases were demonstrated to have the same olivine-like structure as the pristine compound. The lithium-deficient phases were proposed to be Li0.7CoPO4 and CoPO4. The completely delithiated phase appears to be unstable in air and undergoes amorphization. The phase transitions are reversible, but a slow kinetics of the initial delithiation was identified by in situ synchrotron diffraction and the potentiostatic intermittent titration technique. We demonstrated that the electrochemical extraction of lithium is accompanied by significant electrolyte decomposition, contributing to the capacity loss upon cycling. The galvanostatic intermittent titration technique combined with impedance spectroscopy revealed self-discharge of the cell in the charged state. This study argues different mechanisms of lithium extraction from LiCoPO4 in comparison with LiFePO4 and LiMnPO4.