Mitigating First-Cycle Capacity Losses in NMC811 via Lithicone Layers Grown by Molecular Layer Deposition

Konstantin Egorov; Wengao Zhao; Kristian Knemeyer; Alejandro Nico Filippin; Andrea Giraldo; Corsin Battaglia

doi:10.1021/acsami.2c23158

Mitigating First-Cycle Capacity Losses in NMC811 via Lithicone Layers Grown by Molecular Layer Deposition

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2023 Apr 26;15(16):20075-20080. doi: 10.1021/acsami.2c23158. Epub 2023 Apr 11.

Authors

Konstantin Egorov¹, Wengao Zhao¹, Kristian Knemeyer², Alejandro Nico Filippin², Andrea Giraldo², Corsin Battaglia¹

Affiliations

¹ Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
² BASF Schweiz AG, 4005 Basel, Switzerland.

Abstract

Nickel-rich LiNi_1-x-yMn_xCo_yO₂ (NMC, 1 - x - y ≥ 0.8) is currently considered one of the most promising cathode materials for high-energy-density automotive lithium-ion batteries. Here, we show that capacity losses occurring in balanced NMC811||graphite cells can be mitigated by lithicone layers grown by molecular layer deposition directly onto porous NMC811 particle electrodes. Lithicone layers with a stoichiometry of LiOC_0.5H_0.3 as determined by elastic recoil detection analysis and a nominal thickness of 20 nm determined by ellipsometry on a flat reference substrate improve the overall NMC811||graphite cell capacity by ∼5% without negatively affecting the rate capability and long-term cycling stability.

Keywords: CEI; MLD; NMC811; alucone; coating; lithicone; lithium-ion battery.