Integrated Surface Functionalization of Li-Rich Cathode Materials for Li-Ion Batteries

Fundamentals, Status and Promise of Li-Rich Layered Oxides for Energy-Dense Li-Ion Batteries

Li-ion batteries (LIBs) are the dominant electrochemical energy storage devices in the global society, in which cathode materials are the key components. As a requirement for higher energy-dense LIBs, Li-rich layered oxides (LLO) cathodes that can provide higher specific capacity are urgently needed. However, LLO still face several significant challenges before bringing these materials to market. In this Review, the fundamental understanding of LLO is described, with a focus on the physical structure-electrochemical property relationships. Specifically, the various strategies toward reversible anionic redox is discussed, highlighting the approaches that take the basic structure of the battery into account. In addition, the application for all-solid-state batteries and consider the prospects for LLO is assessed.

Toward High-Performance Li-Rich Mn-Based Layered Cathodes: A Review on Surface Modifications

Lithium-rich manganese-based layered oxides (LRMOs) have received attention from both the academic and the industrial communities in recent years due to their high specific capacity (theoretical capacity ≥250 mAh g-1), low cost, and excellent processability. However, the large-scale applications of these materials still face unstable surface/interface structures, unsatisfactory cycling/rate performance, severe voltage decay, etc. Recently, solid evidence has shown that lattice oxygen in LRMOs easily moves and escapes from the particle surface, which inspires significant efforts on stabilizing the surface/interfacial structures of LRMOs. In this review, the main issues associated with the surface of LRMOs together with the recent advances in surface modifications are outlined. The critical role of outside-in surface decoration at both atomic and mesoscopic scales with an emphasis on surface coating, surface doping, surface structural reconstructions, and multiple-strategy co-modifications is discussed. Finally, the future development and commercialization of LRMOs are prospected. Looking forward, the optimal surface modifications of LRMOs may lead to a low-cost and sustainable next-generation high-performance battery technology.

Recent advances in lithium-rich manganese-based cathodes for high energy density lithium-ion batteries

The development of society challenges the limit of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in terms of energy density and safety. Lithium-rich manganese oxide (LRMO) is regarded as one of the most promising cathode materials owing to its advantages of high voltage and specific capacity (more than 250 mA h g^-1) as well as low cost. However, the problems of fast voltage/capacity fading, poor rate performance and the low initial Coulombic efficiency severely hinder its practical application. In this paper, we review the latest research advances of LRMO cathode materials, including crystal structure, electrochemical reaction mechanism, existing problems and modification strategies. In this review, we pay more attention to recent progress in modification methods, including surface modification, doping, morphology and structure design, binder and electrolyte additives, and integration strategies. It not only includes widely studied strategies such as composition and process optimization, coating, defect engineering, and surface treatment, but also introduces many relatively novel modification methods, such as novel coatings, grain boundary coating, gradient design, single crystal, ion exchange method, solid-state batteries and entropy stabilization strategy. Finally, we summarize the existing problems in the development of LRMO and put forward some perspectives on the further research.

Surface Engineering and Trace Cobalt Doping Suppress Overall Li/Ni Mixing of Li-rich Mn-based Cathode Materials

To supress Li/Ni mixing, the strategy of surface modification and Co doping is proposed. Doping trace Co can suppress Li/Ni mixing in the bulk phase of cathode particles, while the rock-salt shell of a cathode originally containing a large amount of Li/Ni mixed rows can be transformed into a cation-ordered spinel phase and a layered phase on the inside by means of surface engineering. Simultaneously, as a coating layer, the Li₂MoO₄ nanolayer forms on the surface. With the improved Li-ion diffusion, certain inhibitory effects on voltage attenuation and capacity loss are found. It shows that the surface modification with trace Co dopants greatly reduces the Li/Ni mixing level in the material, beneficial to improving the electrochemical performance. As expected, the Li-rich Mn-based cathode material with a low level of overall Li/Ni mixing shows an initial discharging capacity of 303 mAh g^-1. This indicates that the joint application of doping and surface coating effectively enhances the performance of the cathode materials with an ultra-low dosage of Co. This idea is helpful to structure other layered cathode materials by surface engineering.

Constructing compatible interface between Li7La3Zr2O12 solid electrolyte and LiCoO2 cathode for stable cycling performances at 4.5 V

With high theoretical capacity and tap density, LiCoO2 (LCO) cathode has been extensively utilized in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for energy storage devices. However, the bottleneck of structural and interfacial instabilities upon cycling severely restricts its practical application at high cut-off voltage. From another perspective, the compatibility between the electrode and electrolyte is highly valued in the development of all-solid-state batteries. Herein, we construct a compatible interface between Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) and LCO through a facile surface modification strategy, which significantly improves the cycling stability of LCO at a high cut-off voltage of 4.5 V. Characterization results demonstrate that the LCO@1.0 LLZO sample delivers a desirable capacity retention of 76.8% even after 1000 cycles at 3.0-4.5 V with the current density of 1 C (1 C = 274 mA g-1). Further investigation indicates that the LLZO modification layer could protect the LCO electrode through effectively alleviating the side reactions, which not only facilitates the Li+ transportation at the interface but also mitigates the bulk structure degradation. Moreover, it is also established that a small amount of La and Zr ions could gradiently migrate into the surface lattice of LCO to generate a thin layer of the surface solid solution Li-Co-La-Zr-O. Thus formed pinning region between surface modified LLZO and LCO cathode could contribute both to their mechanical compatibility and Li+ kinetics behavior upon repeated cycling. This work not only provides a strategy in broadening the operation potential and extracting higher capacity of LCO but also sheds light on constructing compatible interfaces in LIBs, especially for all-solid-state energy storage and conversion devices.

Suppressing the Voltage Decay Based on a Distinct Stacking Sequence of Oxygen Atoms for Li-Rich Cathode Materials

Li-rich cathode materials possess a much higher theoretical energy density than all intercalated cathode materials currently reported and thus are considered as the most promising candidate for next-generation high-energy density Li-ion batteries. However, the rapid voltage decay and the irreversible phase transition of O3-type Li-rich cathode materials often lessen their actual energy density and limit their practical applications, and thus, effectively suppressing the voltage decay of Li-rich cathodes becomes the hotspot of the current research. Herein, the F-doped O2-type Li-rich cathode materials Li_1.2Mn_0.54Ni_0.13Co_0.13O_2+δ-xF_x (F-O2-LRO) are designed and prepared based on the P2-type sodium-ion cathode materials Na_5/6Li_1/4(Mn_0.54Ni_0.13Co_0.13)_3/4O_2+δ (Na-LRO) by ion exchange. It has been found that the as-prepared F-O2-LRO exhibits excellent electrochemical performance, for example, a high discharge specific capacity of 280 mA h g^-1 at 0.1 C with an initial Coulombic efficiency of 94.4%, which is obviously higher than the original LRO (77.2%). After 100 cycles, the F-O2-LRO cathode can still maintain a high capacity retention of 95% at a rate of 1 C, while the capacity retention of the original LRO is only 69.1% at the same current rate. Furthermore, the voltage difference (ΔV) of F-O2-LRO before and after cycling is only 0.268 V after 100 cycles at 1 C, which is less than that of the LRO cathode (0.681 V), indicating much lower polarization. Besides, even at a high current rate of 5 C, F-O2-LRO still displays a satisfactory discharge capacity of 210 mA h g^-1 with a capacity retention of 90.1% after 100 cycles. Therefore, this work put forward a new strategy for the development and industrial application of Li-rich cathode materials in high-energy Li-ion batteries.

A carbon-coated shuttle-like Fe2O3/Fe1-x S heterostructure derived from metal-organic frameworks with high pseudocapacitance for ultrafast lithium storage

Pursuing active, low-cost, and stable electrode materials with superior rate capability and long-life cycling performances for lithium-ion batteries remains a big challenge. In this study, a carbon-coated shuttle-like Fe2O3/Fe1-x S heterostructure is synthesized by simply annealing Fe-based metal-organic frameworks (MIL-88(Fe)) as precursors and sublimed sulfur. Carbon-coated Fe2O3/Fe1-x S displays a unique structure with ultrafine Fe2O3/Fe1-x S nanoparticles distributed in the hollow and porous carbon matrix, which offers a large specific surface area and fast charge transfer ability, and alleviates the volume change upon cycling. When evaluated as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries, it exhibits an ultra-high specific capacity of 1200 mA h g-1 at 0.1 A g-1, and superior high rate capability with a capacity of 345 mA h g-1 at a very high current density of 5.0 A g-1 owing to its high electrical conductivity and enhanced pseudocapacitive contribution from surface effects. The current strategy is promising to synthesize the carbon-coated porous structure from metal-organic frameworks for next-generation energy-storage applications.

Dielectric Polarization in Inverse Spinel-Structured Mg2 TiO4 Coating to Suppress Oxygen Evolution of Li-Rich Cathode Materials

High-energy Li-rich layered cathode materials (≈900 Wh kg^-1 ) suffer from severe capacity and voltage decay during cycling, which is associated with layered-to-spinel phase transition and oxygen redox reaction. Current efforts mainly focus on surface modification to suppress this unwanted structural transformation. However, the true challenge probably originates from the continuous oxygen release upon charging. Here, the usage of dielectric polarization in surface coating to suppress the oxygen evolution of Li-rich material is reported, using Mg₂ TiO₄ as a proof-of-concept material. The creation of a reverse electric field in surface layers effectively restrains the outward migration of bulk oxygen anions. Meanwhile, high oxygen-affinity elements of Mg and Ti well stabilize the surface oxygen of Li-rich material via enhancing the energy barrier for oxygen release reaction, verified by density functional theory simulation. Benefited from these, the modified Li-rich electrode exhibits an impressive cyclability with a high capacity retention of ≈81% even after 700 cycles at 2 C (≈0.5 A g^-1 ), far superior to ≈44% of the unmodified counterpart. In addition, Mg₂ TiO₄ coating greatly mitigates the voltage decay of Li-rich material with the degradation rate reduced by ≈65%. This work proposes new insights into manipulating surface chemistry of electrode materials to control oxygen activity for high-energy-density rechargeable batteries.

Thermal Stability Enhancement through Structure Modification on the Microsized Crystalline Grain Surface of Lithium-Rich Layered Oxides

Lithium-rich layered oxides have been considered as the most promising candidate for offering a high specific capacity and energy density for lithium-ion batteries. However, their practical applications are still suffered by the cycle instability and also closely related thermal stability. Here, microsized crystalline grains with good dispersion of lithium-rich layered oxides are prepared by a molten-salt method, while a spinel structure is also introduced on a grain surface by following chemical oxidation and annealing process, and their thermal performance with different cutoff voltages during the charge process is systematically studied using differential scanning calorimetry method. Results have shown that thermal stability of microsized crystalline grains is better than that of spherical secondary agglomerates, the spinel structure introduction on the grain surface of microsized crystalline grains can contribute obviously to their thermal stability, in which the onset temperature of the exothermic peak has been increased by 103 °C, and the thermal release value can be reduced as much as about 40% when the battery was charged to 4.8 V. Furthermore, the electrochemical performance, especially cycle stability under a high temperature, has also been enhanced for spinel-modified microsized crystalline grains. This work not only develops the microsized crystalline grains with good dispersion of lithium-rich layered oxides, confirming the advantages of these materials compared to spherical secondary agglomerates, but also reveals the method to improve their thermal stability by grain surface structure modification, opening the way to optimize the comprehensive performance of electrode materials for batteries.

Local Electric-Field-Driven Fast Li Diffusion Kinetics at the Piezoelectric LiTaO3 Modified Li-Rich Cathode-Electrolyte Interphase

As one of the most promising cathodes for next-generation lithium ion batteries (LIBs), Li-rich materials have been extensively investigated for their high energy densities. However, the practical application of Li-rich cathodes is extremely retarded by the sluggish electrode-electrolyte interface kinetics and structure instability. In this context, piezoelectric LiTaO3 is employed to functionalize the surface of Li1.2Ni0.17Mn0.56Co0.07O2 (LNMCO), aiming to boost the interfacial Li+ transport process in LIBs. The results demonstrate that the 2 wt% LiTaO3-LNMCO electrode exhibits a stable capacity of 209.2 mAh g-1 at 0.1 C after 200 cycles and 172.4 mAh g-1 at 3 C. Further investigation reveals that such superior electrochemical performances of the LiTaO3 modified electrode results from the additional driving force from the piezoelectric LiTaO3 layer in promoting Li+ diffusion at the interface, as well as the stabilized bulk structure of LNMCO. The supplemented LiTaO3 layer on the LNMCO surface herein, sheds new light on the development of better Li-rich cathodes toward high energy density applications.

A novel strategy for the synthesis of hard carbon spheres encapsulated with graphene networks as a low-cost and large-scalable anode material for fast sodium storage with an ultralong cycle life

We designed a cost-effective and novel strategy for the construction of hard carbon spheres enveloped with graphene networks as a high performance anode material for sodium-ion batteries.

Elucidating and Mitigating the Degradation of Cationic-Anionic Redox Processes in Li1.2Mn0.4Ti0.4O2 Cation-Disordered Cathode Materials

Cation-disordered rock-salt oxides with the O^2-/O₂^n- redox reaction, such as Li_1.2Mn_0.4Ti_0.4O₂ (LMTO), are critical Li-rich cathode materials for designing high-energy-density batteries. Understanding the cationic-anionic redox accompanying the structural evolution process is really imperative to further improve the performance. In this work, the cationic-anionic redox and capacity degradation mechanism of carbon-coated LMTO during (dis)charge processes are elucidated by combining in situ X-ray diffraction, X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy, differential electrochemical mass spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy, and electrochemical analyses. It is concluded that the redox reaction of Mn²⁺/Mn⁴⁺ is quite stable, while the severe degradation is mainly caused by the O^2-/O₂^n- redox process. Moreover, we clearly clarify how the cationic-anionic interplay governs sluggish kinetics, large polarization, and capacity fading in LMTO, and reveal for the first time that a certain amount of carbon coating is capable of suppressing the irreversible lattice oxygen loss and results in an encouraging cycling performance. In summary, we elucidate the degradation of cationic-anionic redox processes in cation-disordered cathode materials and propose strategies for adjusting the electronic/ionic conductivity of the electrodes to modulate the oxygen redox reactions, setting a new direction for the design of better cation-disordered oxides.

Probing the Structural Transition Kinetics and Charge Compensation of the P2-Na0.78Al0.05Ni0.33Mn0.60O2 Cathode for Sodium Ion Batteries

Although the layered P2-type Na_0.67Ni_0.33Mn_0.67O₂ materials show high discharge voltage and specific capacity, they suffer from severe structural instabilities and surface reaction upon Na exchange for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Therefore, it is quite necessary to reveal the underlying structural evolution mechanism and diffusion kinetics to improve the structural/electrochemical stability for application in SIBs. Here, we synthesize a P2-type Na_0.78Al_0.05Ni_0.33Mn_0.60O₂ material by a small dose of Al replacing the Mn, aiming at enhancing the structural stability without sacrificing the average discharge voltage and theoretical capacity. The etching X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray mapping/line scan results indicate that the Al doping induces dual effects of the Al₂O₃ surface coating and the bulk lattice doping, which efficiently suppress the accumulation of structural irreversible changes from P2 to O2, the volume changes, and surface reactions at high voltage. Obvious improvements are further found on the diffusion kinetics of Na ions as well as the decrease of overall voltage polarization. Interestingly, the dual effects of Al doping lead to the significant increase of capacity retention after 50 cycles and improvement of rate capability compared with the undoped counterpart between 2.0 and 4.5 V. Hence, this work sheds new light on stabilizing the P2-Na-Ni-Mn-O materials, which provides a rewarding avenue to develop better SIBs.

Suppression of Monoclinic Phase Transitions of O3-Type Cathodes Based on Electronic Delocalization for Na-Ion Batteries

As high capacity cathodes, O3-type Na-based oxides always suffer from a series of monoclinic transitions upon sodiation/desodiation, mainly caused by Na⁺/vacancy ordering and Jahn-Teller (J-T) distortion, leading to rapid structural degradation and serious performance fading. Herein, a simple modulation strategy is proposed to address this issue based on refrainment of electron localization in expectation to alleviate the charge ordering and change of electronic structure, which always lead to Na⁺/vacancy ordering and J-T distortion, respectively. According to density functional theory calculations, Fe³⁺ with slightly larger radius is introduced into NaNi_0.5Mn_0.5O₂ with the intention of enlarging transition metal layers and facilitating electronic delocalization. The obtained NaFe_0.3Ni_0.35Mn_0.35O₂ exhibits a reversible phase transition of O3_hex-P3_hex without any monoclinic transitions in striking contrast with the complicated phase transitions (O3_hex-O'3_mon-P3_hex-P'3_mon-P3'_hex) of NaNi_0.5Mn_0.5O₂, thus excellently improving the capacity retention with a high rate kinetic. In addition, the strategy is also effective to enhance the air stability, proved by direct observation of atomic-scale ABF-STEM for the first time.

Deliberate Modification of Fe3O4 Anode Surface Chemistry: Impact on Electrochemistry

Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (NPs) with an average size of 8-10 nm have been successfully functionalized with various surface-treatment agents to serve as model systems for probing surface chemistry-dependent electrochemistry of the resulting electrodes. The surface-treatment agents used for the functionalization of Fe₃O₄ anode materials were systematically varied to include aromatic or aliphatic structures: 4-mercaptobenzoic acid, benzoic acid (BA), 3-mercaptopropionic acid, and propionic acid (PA). Both structural and electrochemical characterizations have been used to systematically correlate the electrode functionality with the corresponding surface chemistry. Surface treatment with ligands led to better Fe₃O₄ dispersion, especially with the aromatic ligands. Electrochemistry was impacted where the PA- and BA-treated Fe₃O₄ systems without the -SH group demonstrated a higher rate capability than their thiol-containing counterparts and the pristine Fe₃O₄. Specifically, the PA system delivered the highest capacity and cycling stability among all samples tested. Notably, the aromatic BA system outperformed the aliphatic PA counterpart during extended cycling under high current density, due to the improved charge transfer and ion transport kinetics as well as better dispersion of Fe₃O₄ NPs, induced by the conjugated system. Our surface engineering of the Fe₃O₄ electrode presented herein, highlights the importance of modifying the structure and chemistry of surface-treatment agents as a plausible means of enhancing the interfacial charge transfer within metal oxide composite electrodes without hampering the resulting tap density of the resulting electrode.

One-Step Integrated Surface Modification To Build a Stable Interface on High-Voltage Cathode for Lithium-Ion Batteries

As one of the most promising cathode materials for next-generation energy storage applications, spinel LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ (LNMO) has been highlighted due to many advantages. However, it is still hindered by poor electrochemical stability derived from the bulk/interface structure degradation and side reactions under high working voltage. In this work, fast ion conductor Li₃V₂(PO₄)₃ (LVPO) is adopted to modify the surface of spinel LNMO by a one-step facile method to harvest the maximum benefit of interface properties. It is found that 1 wt % LVPO-LNMO exhibits the most excellent cycling performances, retaining great capacity retention of 87.8% after 500 cycles at room temperature and 82.4% for 150 cycles at 55 °C. Moreover, the rate performance is also significantly improved (90.4 mAh g^-1 under 20C). It is revealed that the LVPO-involved layer could effectively suppress the surface side reactions under high working voltage, which mainly contributes to an improved interface with desirable structural stability and excellent kinetics behavior without sacrificing the surface electrochemical activity in an electrochemical environment. Thus, the dissolution of transition-metal ions is effectively mitigated, avoiding further structure degradation of the bulk material. Especially, it is also established that the vanadium (V) ions in LVPO could be to a certain extent migrated into the surface lattice of LNMO to generate a V-involved transition layer (Li-Ni-Mn-V-O surface solid solution), which greatly co-contributes to the enhanced electrochemical performances owing to the prominently depressed charge-transfer resistance.