Lithium transport through a sol-gel derived Li1-delta Mn2O4 film electrode: Analysis of current transient by Monte Carlo simulation

Abstract

Lithium transport through a sol-gel derived Li1-deltaMn2O4 film electrode was theoretically investigated by the analysis of the potentiostatic current transient in consideration of the interactions between lithium ions using Monte Carlo simulation. The anodic current transient experimentally measured on the film. electrode exhibited two inflection points. In order to analyze the experimental current transient in consideration of the interactions between lithium ions, the flux of lithium ions at the electrolyte/electrode interface was theoretically calculated tinder the 'cell-impedance' constraint as a function of Monte Carlo step (MCS) time by using the Monte Carlo method. The anodic current transient, theoretically calculated under the 'cell-impedance' constraint in consideration of the interactions between lithium ions, was in good agreement with the anodic current transient experimentally measured in value and shape. With the aid of the local cross-sectional snapshots of the configuration of lithium ions within the film electrode, it was suggested that the phase transitions of the disordered to the ordered phase and vice versa are purely governed by the 'cell-impedance-controlled' lithium transport during the lithium deintercalation.