A highly promising high-nickel low-cobalt lithium layered oxide cathode material for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

Yabin Shen; Hongjin Xue; Shaohua Wang; Zhaomin Wang; Dongyu Zhang; Dongming Yin; Limin Wang; Yong Cheng

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2021.04.008

A highly promising high-nickel low-cobalt lithium layered oxide cathode material for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2021 Sep:597:334-344. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2021.04.008. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Authors

Yabin Shen¹, Hongjin Xue¹, Shaohua Wang¹, Zhaomin Wang², Dongyu Zhang¹, Dongming Yin¹, Limin Wang³, Yong Cheng⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, PR China; School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Hefei 230026, PR China.
² State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, PR China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, PR China; School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Hefei 230026, PR China. Electronic address: lmwang@ciac.ac.cn.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, PR China. Electronic address: cyong@ciac.ac.cn.

PMID: 33894544
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2021.04.008

Abstract

Reducing cobalt dependency has attracted great interest for lithium batteries manufacturing due to limited cobalt resources and high prices. A highly promising LiNi_0.6Co_0.05Mn_0.35O₂ (NCM60535) high-nickel low cobalt lithium layered oxide cathode material is successfully prepared by systematically examining the two key synthesis conditions of pH and annealing temperature. The obtained materials exhibit a uniform size distribution, good spherical morphology, clear structure, and homogeneous element distribution. NCM60535 shows competitive electrochemical properties: when compared with the LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂, with a higher output specific capacity and cycling stability at 4.3 V low voltage; when compared with the LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂, with a comparable discharge capacity but relatively poor cycling stability at 4.5 V high voltage. A new type of electrolyte that combines high lithium salt concentration, EC-free solvent system, and VC and LiPO₂F₂ functional additives is designed and greatly improves the electrochemical properties of the material under high voltage. Moreover, it also delivers superior electrochemical properties in high voltage lithium full battery (270 Wh Kg^-1). And we suggest that NCM60535 is expected to become a substitute for the currently widely commercialized LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ (NCM333), LiNi_0.5Co_0.2Mn_0.3O₂ (NCM523), LiNi_0.6Co_0.2Mn_0.2O₂ (NCM622), and LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂ (NCM811) due to its relatively low production cost and competitive electrochemical properties.

Keywords: High voltage electrolyte; Hydroxide co-precipitation; Layered oxide cathode; Lithium-ion battery; Low cobalt content.