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Nano Research 2017, 10(12): 4210-4220 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-017-1662-8
Research Article | Issue | Published: 27 June 2017

Simultaneous surface modification method for 0.4Li2MnO3- 0.6LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 cathode material for lithium ion batteries: Acid treatment and LiCoPO4 coating

Show Author's Information Min-Joon Lee,  Eunsol Lho,  Pilgun Oh,  Yoonkook Son,  Jaephil Cho( )
Department of Energy EngineeringSchool of Energy and Chemical EngineeringUlsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST)Ulsan44919Republic of Korea
Keywords:
cathode material, lithium ion battery, surface modification, electrochemistry, Li-rich material
Cite this article:
Lee M-J, Lho E, Oh P, et al. Simultaneous surface modification method for 0.4Li2MnO3- 0.6LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 cathode material for lithium ion batteries: Acid treatment and LiCoPO4 coating. Nano Research, 2017, 10(12): 4210-4220. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-017-1662-8
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Abstract Full text About this article

Li-rich layered cathode materials have been considered the most promising candidates for large-scale Li-ion batteries due to their low cost and high reversible capacity. However, these materials have many drawbacks that hinder commercialization, such as low initial efficiency and cyclability at elevated temperatures. To overcome these barriers, we propose an efficient and effective surface modification method, in which chemical activation (acid treatment) and LiCoPO4 coating were carried out simultaneously. During the synthesis, the lithium ions were extracted from the lattice, leading to improved Columbic efficiency, and these ions were used for the formation of LiCoPO4. The Ni and Co doped spinel phase was formed at the surface of the host material, which gives rise to the facile pathway for lithium ions. The LiCoPO4 and highly doped spinel on the surface acted as double protection layers that effectively prevented side reactions on the surface at 60 ℃. Moreover, the transition metal migration of the modified cathode was weakened, due to the presence of the spinel structure at the surface. Consequently, the newly developed Li-rich cathode material exhibited a high 1st efficiency of 94%, improved capacity retention of 82% during 100 cycles at 60 ℃, and superior rate capability of 62% at 12C (1C = 200 mA/g) rate at 24 ℃. In addition, the thermal stability of the modified cathode was significantly improved as compared to that of a bare counterpart at 4.6 V, showing a 60% decrease in the total heat generation.


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Simultaneous surface modification method for 0.4Li2MnO3- 0.6LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 cathode material for lithium ion batteries: Acid treatment and LiCoPO4 coating

Show Author's information Min-Joon Lee, Eunsol Lho, Pilgun Oh, Yoonkook Son, Jaephil Cho( )
Department of Energy EngineeringSchool of Energy and Chemical EngineeringUlsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST)Ulsan44919Republic of Korea

Abstract

Li-rich layered cathode materials have been considered the most promising candidates for large-scale Li-ion batteries due to their low cost and high reversible capacity. However, these materials have many drawbacks that hinder commercialization, such as low initial efficiency and cyclability at elevated temperatures. To overcome these barriers, we propose an efficient and effective surface modification method, in which chemical activation (acid treatment) and LiCoPO4 coating were carried out simultaneously. During the synthesis, the lithium ions were extracted from the lattice, leading to improved Columbic efficiency, and these ions were used for the formation of LiCoPO4. The Ni and Co doped spinel phase was formed at the surface of the host material, which gives rise to the facile pathway for lithium ions. The LiCoPO4 and highly doped spinel on the surface acted as double protection layers that effectively prevented side reactions on the surface at 60 ℃. Moreover, the transition metal migration of the modified cathode was weakened, due to the presence of the spinel structure at the surface. Consequently, the newly developed Li-rich cathode material exhibited a high 1st efficiency of 94%, improved capacity retention of 82% during 100 cycles at 60 ℃, and superior rate capability of 62% at 12C (1C = 200 mA/g) rate at 24 ℃. In addition, the thermal stability of the modified cathode was significantly improved as compared to that of a bare counterpart at 4.6 V, showing a 60% decrease in the total heat generation.

Keywords: cathode material, lithium ion battery, surface modification, electrochemistry, Li-rich material

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Publication history
Copyright
Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 13 February 2017
Revised: 08 April 2017
Accepted: 29 April 2017
Published: 27 June 2017
Issue date: December 2017

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer‐Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2017

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the IT R & D program of MOTIE/KEIT (Development of Li-rich Cathode and Carbon-free Anode Materials for High Capacity/High Rate Lithium secondary Batteries, No. 10046309).

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