doi:10.1016/j.ssi.2004.09.050
Copyright © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
First principles predictions for intercalation behaviour
Marina V. Koudriachovaa, b, c, Nicholas M. Harrisonb, c and Simon W. de Leeuwa,
, 
aComputational Physics, Department of Applied Physics, TU Delft, Lorentzweg 1, 2628 CJ Delft, The Netherlands
bDepartment of Chemistry, Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, SW7 2AY, UK
cCLRC, Daresbury Laboratory, Daresbury, Warrington WA4 4AD, UK
Available online 5 November 2004.
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Abstract
Li-insertion into rutile and anatase structured TiO2 has been studied using first principles calculations. It has been show that intercalation behaviour and its temperature dependence cannot be explained by thermodynamics alone. The absence of insertion into rutile at room temperature is explained in terms of the inaccessibility of the low energy configurations due to highly anisotropic diffusion. The importance of anisotropy of elastic screening of Li–Li interactions and diffusion of Li-ions in understanding intercalation properties has been demonstrated. In anatase, the calculations correctly predict a phase separation in anatase into a Li-rich phase (Li0.5TiO2) and Li-poor phase. The mechanism underlying the thermodynamics of Li-insertion is dominated by the strong coupling between the structural and electronic degrees of freedom.
Keywords: Li-insertion; First principles calculations; Anisotropic diffusion
Fig. 1. A polyhedral representation of four unit cells of the structure of anatase.
Fig. 2. A polyhedral representation of eight unit cells of the structure of rutile.
Fig. 3. The predicted structure of the new phase at x=0.75 with an isovalue surface of the spin density. Titanium ions are shown in magenta, oxygen in red and lithium ions in pink. The blue surface corresponds to the isovalue surface of the spin density.
Fig. 4. The primitive unit cell of the predicted structure with composition Li0.5TiO2 with an isovalue surface of the spin density. Colors as in Fig. 3.
Fig. 5. An isosurface value of the spin density for a tetragonal structure of anatase containing two extra electrons. Note that this is a metastable state. Colors for ions as in Fig. 3. The blue and green surfaces correspond isovalues of the spin up and spin down density, respectively.
Fig. 6. An isovalue surface of the spin density for Li0.125TiO2. Colors as in Fig. 3.
Table 1.
Predicted fractional coordinates of a new phase of Li0.75TiO2
