Tuning oxygen release of sodium-ion layered oxide cathode through synergistic surface coating and doping

Xue-Li Zhang; Zhi-Xiong Huang; Yan-Ning Liu; Meng-Yuan Su; Kai Li; Xing-Long Wu

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.06.201

Tuning oxygen release of sodium-ion layered oxide cathode through synergistic surface coating and doping

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Nov 15;650(Pt A):742-751. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.06.201. Epub 2023 Jun 30.

Authors

Xue-Li Zhang¹, Zhi-Xiong Huang², Yan-Ning Liu¹, Meng-Yuan Su¹, Kai Li³, Xing-Long Wu⁴

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Chemistry, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin 130024, PR China.
² MOE Key Laboratory for UV Light-Emitting Materials and Technology, Northeast Normal University, Ministry of Education, Changchun, Jilin 130024, PR China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, PR China. Electronic address: likai@ciac.ac.cn.
⁴ MOE Key Laboratory for UV Light-Emitting Materials and Technology, Northeast Normal University, Ministry of Education, Changchun, Jilin 130024, PR China; Key Laboratory of Organo-Pharmaceutical Chemistry of Jiangxi Province, Gannan Normal University, Gan Zhou 341000, China. Electronic address: xinglong@nenu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37441967
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.06.201

Abstract

Layered transition metal oxides have the greatest potential for commercial application as cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries. However, transition metal oxides inevitably undergo an irreversible oxygen loss process during cycling, which leads to structural changes in the material and ultimately to severe capacity degradation. In this work, using density function theory (DFT) calculations, the Ni-O bond is revealed to be the weakest of the M-O bonds, which may lead to structural failure. Herein, the synergistic surface CeO₂ modification and the trace doping of Ce elements stimulate oxygen redox and improve its reversibility, thus improving the structural stability and electrochemical performance of the material. Theoretical calculations prove that Na_0.67Mn_0.7Ni_0.2Co_0.1O₂ (MNC) obtains electrons from CeO₂, avoiding destruction of the Ni-O bond by over-energy released during the charging process and inhibiting oxygen loss. The capacity retention was 77.37% for 200 cycles at 500 mA g^-1, compared to 33.84% for the unmodified Na_0.67Mn_0.7Ni_0.2Co_0.1O₂. Overall, the present work demonstrates that the synergistic effect of surface coating and doping is an effective strategy for realizing tuning oxygen release and high electrochemical performance.

Keywords: Anionic redox; Layered oxide; Sodium-ion batteries; Surface coating.