Plasma-enabled fluorine doping boosts high-rate performance of lithium iron phosphate cathodes
摘要
LiFePO4/C (LFP/C) is the main stream cathode material for lithium-ion batteries, but still suffers from low electronic conductivity and sluggish Li+ diffusion, limiting its applications in high power scenario. In this work, we present a novel F-doping plasma method to modify LFP/C cathode via a one-step low-temperature CF4 plasma technique. This plasma approach is conducted under mild conditions and ensures uniform interfacial treatment on LFP/C with uniform fluorine incorporation into the carbon layer (LFP/C-F). Moreover, the lattice structure and particle integrity of LFP/C is well kept without damage. In addition, the plasma modified LFP/C shows enhanced graphitization of the carbon coating, reduced interfacial resistance, and improved Li+ diffusion kinetics. Typically, capacitive high-rate performance associated with reinforced ion/electron transfer kinetics is demonstrated. Consequently, electrochemical tests demonstrate superior rate performance in the designed LFP/C-F cathode, which delivers a specific capacity of 153.1 mA h g−1 at 0.2 C and 110.4 mA h g−1 at 5 C, respectively, outperforming pristine LFP/C (150.7 mA h g−1 at 0.2 C, 84.3 mA h g−1 at 5 C). This plasma doping strategy underlines the role of fluorine in boosting conductivity and capacitive energy enhancement, thus offering a promising approach for high-power energy storage systems.