User:Vizkopa/sandbox/Lithium Vanadium Phosphate Battery

Lithium Vanadium Phosphate Battery is a type of battery that utilizes lithium ions in the anode and vanadium phosphate in the cathode. This produces a battery containing densely packed energy. Since the 1990s the lithium ion battery was widely accepted as the highest performing battery. The new lithium vanadium phosphate battery incorporates vanadium into its structure allowing it to be more efficient. While the lithium vanadium phosphate battery is not perfect, it is the next step in improving the lithium ion battery.

How it Works
A battery's main function is to transform chemical energy into electrical energy. The lithium vanadium phosphate (LVP) battery does this using two half cells called the anode and cathode. The anode contains the lithium ions, and the cathode contains vanadium phosphate. When the battery is connected to a circuit, lithium ions flow from the anode to the cathode and electrons flow from the cathode to the anode, through the circuit. The electrons that flow through the circuit will power whatever device it is connected to. The flow of electrons is created through the difference of voltage between the lithium ions and the vanadium phosphate in the two half cells. The vanadium phosphate maintains the voltage difference between the two half cells, while the transfer of lithium ions allows electrons to be released to produce electrical energy.

An LVP battery is also rechargeable, so it must be able to transform electrical energy into chemical energy. When energy is put into the battery, electrons will flow in the opposite direction, pushing the lithium ions in the opposite direction. This will reset the battery, making it ready for use once again.

Phosphates
The use of phosphates in the battery make them cheaper, because phosphates are relatively inexpensive. Phosphates are a molecular anions composed of phosphate atoms and oxygen atoms. They also posses much higher redox potentials, so more energy can be gathered from them in the battery. The difference in redox potentials means that more electrons can be passed from cathode to anode per lithium ion that transfers over. So if more electrons are passed over then more electrical energy is produced, and more work can be done. Phosphates also display good electrochemical and thermal stability, so they are not dangerous to users. When batteries are being recharged they often times produce heat, which can be dangerous. The use of phosphates in the battery make it more safe because it stays cooler while recharging.

Vanadium
The use of vanadium in the cathode of the lithium-ion battery allows the reaction within the battery to release more energy in the forward direction and to move more quickly in the backward direction. So while in use the battery has more stored energy, and after use it can be recharged at a much faster rate. The use of vanadium also allows the battery to be in use as well as recharging at the same time.

Vanadium phosphates are located in the sink of the cathode. The sink is the aqueous part of the cathode that contains many negative anions. The sink must maintain a certain voltage and concentration of vanadium phosphates in order to keep the correct voltage for the battery. The structure of vanadium phosphates provide a much higher capacity for lithium ions to bind to it. So it greatly increases the cycling of lithium ions in both the forward and backward reactions. So the special structure of vanadium phosphates make lithium ion batteries much more efficient.

Applications
The LVP battery contains a higher voltage, so it has a higher potential to do work. It has a voltage of about 4.7 or 4.8 compared to its predecessor the lithium cobalt oxide battery which only has a voltage of about 3.7. When applied to electric cars, this increase in voltage translates to higher speed and acceleration. The LVP battery can be compacted into smaller spaces because it is so energy dense, so electric cars will become more light weight as well. LVP batteries will have a longer life span as well, so they will be more practical for electric cars, and electric tools as well.

Waste
Because LVP batteries are rechargeable, waste disposal is not that big of an issue. However these batteries still have a life expectancy. After a period of time, these batteries will not continue to work and they will need to be disposed of. But the use of phosphates make them much less toxic than other lithium ion batteries, such as a lithium battery that uses a cobalt oxide or magnesium oxide rather than a phosphate. LVP batteries have a longer life expectancy than these other lithium ion batteries as well. Eventually LVP batteries will become waste, but the implementation of these batteries reduces the amount of batteries in waste as well as the toxicity of those batteries thrown away.

Draw Backs
There have been observed cases where lithium ion batteries have exploded when they are being recharged. This occurs because when a lithium ion battery is being recharged, the reaction that takes place inside the battery produces heat. If a battery produces too much heat when it is being recharged, then it is prone to explode. LVP batteries, through the use of vanadium phosphates, maintain a cooler temperature during recharging, so they are less prone to explode. However the structural transitions relating to both electron and Li-ion location and transport are still poorly understood, so there is still some slight danger to using these batteries.