Effects of a Mixed O/F Ligand in the Tavorite-Type LiVPO4O Structure

We report the synthesis and detailed structural and chemical characterization including electrochemical properties of a lithium vanadium oxy/fluoro-phosphate material. To the best of our knowledge, we have for the first time synthesized a LiVPO4O-type phase with a mixed O/F ligand. In the synthesis procedure, the LiVPO4O precursor compound was fluorinated via LiF incorporation, with preservation of the LiVPO4O framework structure. The operating potential of the synthesized material is increased compared to that of the LiVPO4O precursor (4.12 V vs 3.95 V versus metallic lithium, respectively). The related increase in operating potential was assigned to the effect of the intermixing O/F ligand, which is attained via the successful fluorine incorporation into the LiVPO4O structure. A characterization of the investigated materials was performed using microscale-covering XRD, XANES, and NMR techniques as well as nanoscale spatially resolved imaging and analytical STEM techniques. The obtained oxy/fluoro-phosphate phase is isostructural to LiVPO4O; however, the presence of the mixed O/F ligand promoted a higher symmetry of vanadium octahedra. These variations of the vanadium local environment along with the observed inhomogeneous distribution of the incorporated fluorine gave rise to the minor local deviations in vanadium valence. Our results clearly emphasize the connection among the fluorine ligand incorporation, its local distribution, and the electrochemical properties of the material.