Studies
of lithium iron phosphates doped with Mg, Mn, Co, and Ni
were carried out at different stages of electrochemical charging using 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. A multispectrum fitting
method was used to analyze spectra measured at different temperatures.
This made it possible to detect and characterize various local states
of iron cations with different cationic environments. The feature
of the charging process that is caused by doping the samples is established.
Doping of LiFePO4 leads to the formation of a large interphase
boundary between lithiated and delithiated regions where Fe2+ and Fe3+ cations coexist. Magnetic moments of divalent
iron cations that are located near this boundary exhibit relaxation
properties. Based on the obtained results, a new model of charge and
discharge processes for doped samples was proposed explaining the
increase of the charge/discharge rate. Within the framework of this
model, regions with increased and decreased concentrations of divalent
ions are formed inside the particles of a cathode material during
delithiation and lithiation, respectively. The coexistence of Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions and, as a consequence, the formation
of lithium defects at interphase boundaries determine the increase
in electronic and ionic conductivity at interfaces and rapid diffusion
of lithium ions in the samples.