A High Capacity Li-Ion Cathode: The Fe(III/VI) Super-Iron Cathode

A super-iron Li-ion cathode with a 3-fold higher reversible capacity (a storage capacity of 485 mAh/g) is presented. One of the principle constraints to vehicle electrification is that the Li-ion cathode battery chemistry is massive, and expensive. Demonstrated is a 3 electron storage lithium cathodic chemistry, and a reversible Li super-iron battery, which has a significantly higher capacity than contemporary Li-ion batteries. The super-iron Li-ion cathode consists of the hexavalent iron (Fe(VI)) salt, Na 2FeO 4, and is formed from inexpensive and clean materials. The charge storage mechanism is fundamentally different from those of traditional lithium ion intercalation cathodes. Instead, charge storage is based on multi-electron faradaic reduction, which considerably enhances the intrinsic charge storage capacity.