Since the late 1990’s Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) has attracted significant attention as a candidate lithium-ion battery material. Lithium-ion batteries using LiFePO4 (LFP) offer a high theoretical capacity, long lifespan, good charge/discharge performance, safe handling, and low toxicity.

In order to improve the electrochemical performance, it is typical to apply a carbon coating to the surface of the electrode material. Carbon black powders are also commonly added into cathode materials during manufacturing and modification to improve performance. Thus, the cathode mixture may comprise different types of carbon (e.g. coated carbon, doped carbon black). The different carbon contents influence the results of the modification and therefore determination of carbon content is critical for product development and optimization purposes.

Typically, thermogravimetry (TGA) alone can separate the abovementioned carbon types. However, the oxidation (mass increase) of the ferrous ions during combustion makes it impossible to deconvolute the mass losses coming from the carbonaceous species. In this webinar, we demonstrate the ability of thermogravimetric analysis coupled to a mass spectrometer (TGA-MS) to distinguish and quantify the different carbon types in LFP battery cathode materials.

Presenter:
Andrew Gillen
BE (Materials), ANZ Product Manager
NETZSCH Analyzing & Testing (NETZSCH Australia Pty Ltd)