Li iron chlorides as cathode materials for high-energy density solid-state batteries

This project aims to investigate the structural and electrochemical properties of novel lithium metal chlorides (LMCs, LixMyClz), specifically lithium iron chloride (LFC, Li2-2xFe1+xCl4 with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.3), as promising cathode material for next-generation batteries. Although currently limited by low capacity and poor Li-ion conductivity, the electrochemical performance of LFC can be enhanced by increasing the Fe content, which boosts ionic conductivity and capacity. Preliminary results show that Fe doping improves these properties, but further study is needed to understand the structural changes and lithiation mechanisms. We propose using synchrotron-based high-resolution X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray total scattering at beamlines BM01 and BM31 to explore these aspects. LFC will be analyzed ex-situ and in-situ during thermal annealing and electrochemical cycling to assess the effect of Fe substitution.