Investigation of the Li1+xV3O8 electrode-organic electrolyte interface by scanning photoelectron microscopy

To investigate the formation of a solid electrolyte interface (SEI) on the Li1+xV3O8 electrode surface in the thermodynamic stability range of the organic electrolyte, we applied scanning photoelectron microscopy (SPEM) to a pristine electrode and to an electrode after ten cycles. The F K-edge absorption spectrum of the cycled electrode showed that LiF forms on the electrode surface during the lithium insertion-extraction process in the Li1+xV3O8/Li cell. The photoelectron spectrum for the cycled electrode showed intense spectral features corresponding to Li 1s, F 2s, F 2p, and P 2p electron signals, whereas these spectral features were of negligible intensity for the pristine electrode. The above results give strong support for the formation of an SEI that consists of LiF and compounds containing phosphorus during operation of the battery. The SPEM images also revealed that the fluorine distribution on the surface of the cycled electrode was inhomogeneous. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.