Raman and NMR studies of aged LiFePO4 cathode

The carbon coated LiFePO4 nanoparticles are used in advanced lithium-ion batteries due to low cost, high energy and power density. In this paper Raman spectroscopy is used to analyze the degradation of carbon coating around these nanoparticles in several commercial cells aged with different C-rate. Magic angle spinning 7Li Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is used to characterize these nanoparticles for the presence of Li. In Raman spectroscopy data, structural change in the carbon leading to low electrical conductivity is observed for the cells aged at higher C-rate. In NMR spectroscopy data, isotropic 7Li peak is observed in an unaged cell, while the similar peak is absent in the aged cells.