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PREFACE
The field of batteries is one of the fastest growing and one of the most innovative field. With the size of devices getting smaller and smaller and the increasing number of functions that they are required to perform the battery has to have increasing power along with smaller in size. These requirements has lead to increased research in this field and the report is the study of one of those innovations, namely Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery.
ABSTRACT
THE lithium iron phosphate battery one of the latest development in the field of battery technology. It is part of the family of Li-ion batteries which till now generally use LiCoO2 electrode. The report includes detailed study of the LiFePO4 batteries, their composition, working (charging and discharging), physical and chemical characteristics and applications.
TABLE OF CONTENT 1. Preface 2. Abstract 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Acknowledgement History and Introduction Synthesizing Processes Battery Composition Charging and Discharging Advantages Disadvantages and their Improvement Applications
11. References
specific capacity, it has gained some market acceptance and is expected to widely expand the applications in the field of lithium batteries, and take it to the new fields such as electric bicycles, gas-electric hybrid vehicles and automation vehicles. However, a trade off is made for reduction of 14% in energy density, but higher energy variants are being explored.
ADVANTAGES
CLEAN: LiFePO4 batteries do not face any environmental issues unlike general Li-ion
batteries which has cobalt has one of its constituents. Cobalt with its very nature of being carcinogenic is harmful for environment and humans.
SAFE: One important advantage of LiFePO4 batteries over other lithium-ion batteries is
their thermal and chemical stability, which improves battery safety. LiFePO4 is an intrinsically safer cathode material than LiCoO2 and manganese. The Fe-P-O bond is stronger than the Co-O bond, so that when abused, (short-circuited, overheated, etc.) the oxygen atoms are much harder to remove. This stabilization of the redox energies also helps fast ion migration. LiFepo4 has a lower +3 valence state in the charged cathode, this prevents O2 release and any possible thermal runaway. The Oxygen stays bonded therefore, nothing happens, even at temps at 160 celcius. Even in an overcharged
state, this type lithium battery is not combustable, no exothermic reactions takes place. Lithium iron phosphate cells are much harder to ignite in the event of mishandling especially during charge, although any battery, once fully charged, can only dissipate overcharge energy as heat. Therefore failure of the battery through misuse is still possible. It is commonly accepted that LiFePO4 battery does not decompose at high temperatures.
POWER: The cell provides constant power delivery within a tight voltage window over
80% of the state-of-charge (SOC) and storing the battery fully charged has minimal impact on its life. For an application with a narrow voltage window, this utilized energy can be maximized for the most efficient use. With their low impedance and thermally conductive design, LiFePO4 cells can be continuously discharged at a fixed rate, a marked improvement over other rechargeable battery alternatives, and have consistent power over wide state of charge range. The energy density (energy/volume) of a new LFP battery is some 14% lower than that of a new LiCoO2 battery. In addition to this, LiFePO4 batteries are capable of operation over wide range of temperatures which makes them suitable for use in
aircrafts. The discharging characteristics of the battery are shown in the corresponding graph over different temperatures. Also unlike general Li-ion (LiCoO2) batteries, the internal resistance of LiFePO4 batteries is low, remain stable over its age and charging cycles and infact reduces with increase in temperature as shown below.
Low Conductivity (10.10*10-9 S/cm) Low Diffusion constant of Lithium ions. The energy density (energy/volume) of a new LFP battery is some 14% lower than that of a new LiCoO2 battery
The two former characteristics limits the charging and discharging rate of LiFePO4 batteries. However these are now be reduced by the use of certain techniques like coating and replacing the material and converting the material into nano particles. Adding conducting particles in delithiated FePO4 raises its electron conductivity. For example, adding conducting particles with good diffusion capability like graphite and carbon to LiFePO 4 powder significantly improves conductivity between particles, increases the efficiency of LiFePO 4 and raises its reversible capacity up to 95% of the theoretical values. Also, coating LFP with inorganic oxides can make LFPs structure more stable and increase conductivity. Similarly, LiFePO4 with inorganic coating, such as ZnO and ZrO 2, has a better cycling lifetime, larger capacity and better characteristics under the condition of a large discharge current. The addition of a conductive carbon in LiFePO 4 increases the its efficiency. Mitsui Zosen Japan and Aleees reported that addition of other conducting metal particles, such as copper and silver, also increased LiFePO 4s efficiency. LiMPO4 with 1 wt. % of metal additives has a reversible capacity up to 140mAh/g and better characteristics under the condition of large discharge current.
APPLICATIONS
SOLAR LIGHTS: LFP cells are now used in some solar powered path lights
because their higher working voltage allows a single cell to drive an LED without needing a step-up circuit. Some models even claim to be 24 times more brighter than baseline path lights
VEHICLES: o This battery is used in the electric cars made by Aptera and QUICC.
o o
Killacycle, the worlds fastest electric motorcycle, uses lithium iron phosphate batteries. ZBoard electric skateboards use LFP batteries, offering ranges up to 20 miles.
o In May 2007, Lithium Technology Corp. announced a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery with cells large enough for use in hybrid cars, claiming they are "the largest cells of their kind in the world. o Used in aircrafts due to capability of operations over wide range of temperatures and safety as compared to conventional Li-ion batteries.
ELECTRIC TOOLS: Many Electric tools and portable electric devices like toys,
torches also now use these batteries due to their light weight, longer durability and safety.
BATTERY COMPOSITION
Similar to most other batteries LiFePO4 batteries have an outer metal case. The use of metal is particularly important here because the battery is pressurized. This metal case has some kind of pressure-sensitive vent hole whenever the battery gets so hot that it risks exploding from over-pressure, this vent releases the extra pressure while rendering the battery useless afterwards. The vent is strictly there as a safety measure. So is the Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) switch, a device that is supposed to keep the battery from overheating. This metal case holds a long spiral comprising three thin sheets pressed together as shown in the corresponding figure:
90% C-LiFePO4 5% Carbon(superior graphite) 5% Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) - Used as Separator, which separates the anode and cathode physically while allowing the ions to pass through.
Electrolyte :
A lithium salt in an organic solvent is used as electrolyte generally Ethylene carbonateDimethyl carbonate (EC-DMC) & 1M solution LiClO4 is used as electrolyte
Pure lithium is very reactive. It reacts vigorously with water to form lithium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. Thus, a non-aqueous electrolyte is typically used, and a sealed container rigidly excludes water from the battery pack.
The movement of these lithium ions happens at a fairly high voltage, so each cell produces 3.7 volts. This is much higher than the 1.5 volts typical of a normal AA alkaline cell that you buy at the supermarket and helps make lithium-ion batteries more compact in small devices like cell phones. The separator sheet in LiFePO4 batteries keeps the electrodes apart and if this sheet gets punctured, the electrodes touch and the battery heats up very quickly. This heat causes the battery to vent the organic solvent used as an electrolyte, and the heat (or a nearby spark) can light it. Once that happens inside one of the cells, the heat of the fire cascades to the other cells and the whole pack goes up in flames. However it is rare and LiFePO4 is still one of the safest batteries around.
REFERENCES
Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org) How Stuff Works (www.howstuffworks.com) Discovery Curiosity (curiosity.discovery.com) A123 Systems (www.a123systems.com)