Asymmetric Solvents Regulated Crystallization-Limited Electrolytes for All-Climate Lithium Metal Batteries

Electrolytes that can keep liquid state are one of the most important physical metrics to ensure the ions transfer with stable operation of rechargeable lithium-based batteries at a wide temperature window. It is generally accepted that strong polar solvents with high melting points favor the safe operation of batteries above room temperatures but are susceptible to crystallization at low temperatures (≤−40 °C). Here, a crystallization limitation strategy was proposed to handle this issue. We demonstrate that, although the high melting points of ethylene sulfite (ES, −17 °C) and fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC, ≈23 °C), their mixtures can avoid crystallization at low temperatures, which can be attributed to low intermolecular interactions and altered molecular motion dynamics. A suitable ES/FEC ratio (10 % FEC) can balance the bulk and interface transport of ions, enabling LiNi_0.8Mn_0.1Co_0.1O₂||lithium (NCM811||Li) full cells to deliver excellent temperature resilience and cycling stability over a wide temperature range from −50 °C to +70 °C. More than 66 % of the capacity retention was achieved at −50 °C compared to room temperature. The NCM811||Li pouch cells exhibit high cycling stability under realistic conditions (electrolyte weight to cathode capacity ratio (E/C)≤3.5 g Ah⁻¹, negative to positive electrode capacity ratio (N/P)≤1.09) at different temperatures.     

快离子导体LiTi2(PO4)3在LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2正极材料表面的原位反应包覆及其电化学性能

通过原位反应法,利用富镍层状金属氧化物LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂（LNCM811）正极材料表面残余的氢氧化锂和碳酸锂,与C₈H₂₀O₄Ti和（NH₄）H₂PO₄反应,在LNCM811表面原位生成快离子导体LiTi₂（PO₄）₃（LTP）包覆层。这种原位反应的包覆方法有利于移除LNCM811表面有害的残留物氢氧化锂和碳酸锂。而且,获得的LTP均匀包覆层不仅可以有效地抑制LNCM811表面和电解液的直接接触及其副反应,还可以确保充放电循环过程中LNCM811正极材料的快速Li⁺传导。因此,在LTP包覆层的多重作用下,LTP包覆的LNCM811正极材料具有优异的循环稳定性和倍率性能：在0.2C时,首次放电比容量高达200.6 mAh·g^-1,200圈后的可逆容量依然有155.7 mAh·g^-1;在2C和5C的高电流密度下,200圈后的可逆容量仍然有126.4和111.9 mAh·g^-1。     

Enhanced electrochemical performance of LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathode via wet-chemical coating of MgO

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811) has a high potential for using as the cathode material for lithium–ion batteries (LIBs) for electric vehicles owing to...     

LiNbO_3-coated LiNi_(0.8)Co_(0.1)Mn_(0.1)O_2 cathode with high discharge capacity and rate performance for all-solid-state lithium battery

In order to obtain high power density, energy density and safe energy storage lithium ion batteries(LIB)to meet growing demand for electronic products, oxide cathodes have been widely explored in all-solidstate lithium batteries(ASSLB) using sulfide solid electrolyte. However, the electrochemical performances are still not satisfactory, due to the high interfacial resistance caused by severe interfacial instability between sulfide solid electrolyte and oxide cathode, especially Ni-rich oxide cathodes, in charge-discharge process. Ni-rich LiNi_(0.8)Co_(0.1)Mn_(0.1)O_2(NCM811) material at present is one of the most key cathode candidates to achieve the high energy density up to 300 Wh kg~(-1) in liquid LIB, but rarely investigated in ASSLB using sulfide electrolyte. To design the stable interface between NCM811 and sulfide electrolyte should be extremely necessary. In this work, in view of our previous work, LiNbO_3 coating with about 1 wt%content is adopted to improve the interfacial stability and the electrochemical performances of NCM811 cathode in ASSLB using Li_(10)GeP_2S_(12) solid electrolyte. Consequently, LiNbO_3-coated NCM811 cathode displays the higher discharge capacity and rate performance than the reported oxide electrodes in ASSLB using sulfide solid electrolyte to our knowledge.     

Active Diluent-Anion Synergy Strategy Regulating Nonflammable Electrolytes for High-Efficiency Li Metal Batteries

High-energy Li metal batteries (LMBs) consisting of Li metal anodes and high-voltage cathodes are promising candidates of the next generation energy-storage systems owing to their ultrahigh energy density. However, it is still challenging to develop high-voltage nonflammable electrolytes with superior anode and cathode compatibility for LMBs. Here, we propose an active diluent-anion synergy strategy to achieve outstanding compatibility with Li metal anodes and high-voltage cathodes by using 1,2-difluorobenzene (DFB) with high activity for yielding LiF as an active diluent to regulate nonflammable dimethylacetamide (DMAC)-based localized high concentration electrolyte (LHCE-DFB). DFB and bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (FSI⁻) anion cooperate to construct robust LiF-rich solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) and cathode electrolyte interphase (CEI), which effectively stabilize DMAC from intrinsic reactions with Li metal anode and enhance the interfacial stability of the Li metal anodes and LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂ (NCM811) cathodes. LHCE-DFB enables ultrahigh Coulombic efficiency (98.7 %), dendrite-free, extremely stable and long-term cycling of Li metal anodes in Li || Cu cells and Li || Li cells. The fabricated NCM811 || Li cells with LHCE-DFB display remarkably enhanced long-term cycling stability and excellent rate capability. This work provides a promising active diluent-anion synergy strategy for designing high-voltage electrolytes for high-energy batteries.     

高镍三元正极材料动力学性能的单颗粒研究

镍钴锰三元材料LiNi_xCo_yMn_zO₂ (x + y + z = 1)在容量、倍率、循环及热稳定性等方面的性能往往受到金属元素Ni、Co、Mn含量的显著影响. 其中,增加元素Ni的含量有助于提高材料的比容量。因此,LiNi_0.6Co_0.2Mn _0.2O₂（NCM622）和LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂（NCM811）成为了目前研究最为广泛的两款高镍三元正极材料. 但目前针对这两款材料的对比研究主要集中在材料比容量、热稳定性和循环稳定性的影响方面,而对材料动力学性能的研究较少,尤其是对材料本征动力学参数的表征尚未见报道. 本文采用单颗粒微电极技术,以粒径相同的 NCM622 和 NCM811 颗粒为研究对象,排除导电剂、粘结剂和电极结构的影响,从材料本征动力学性能评估的角度出发,分析了Ni元素的含量对这两款材料的充放电性能、交流阻抗谱、锂离子固相扩散系数和倍率放电性能等的影响. 结果表明,与NCM622 相比,随着Ni²⁺和Ni³⁺总含量的增加,NCM811 表现出更高的充放电容量、锂离子固相扩散系数、电化学反应活性和倍率放电性能. 以 20 C 放电,NCM811 材料的放电容量保持率仍可达到80.8%以上.     

表面活性剂辅助合成LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2正极材料

通过添加烷基季铵盐类表面活性剂来调控材料形貌和粒径的改性方法,在LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂前驱体合成过程中添加表面活性剂十二烷基三甲基溴化铵(DTAB)和十六烷基三甲基溴化铵(CTAB),利用尿素作为配合剂和沉淀剂,采用溶剂热法合成LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂前驱体。最后,高温混锂煅烧合成椭球形的空心多孔材料。相比于不添加表面活性剂的样本,改性的材料有着更小的粒径和更加规整的形貌。电化学测试表明,添加DTAB和CTAB之后,首次充电容量分别达到223与251 mAh·g^-1(0.1C)。其中,添加CTAB的样品首次放电容量达到216 mAh·g^-1(0.1C),100次循环后容量保持率为85.1%,高于LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂的81.7%(0.1C)。表面活性剂的改性显著提高了材料的电化学性能,为高镍三元正极材料的改性提供了一种新的思路。     

Study on the solid solution of YMn1−xFexO3: Structural, magnetic and dielectric properties

The solid solution of YMn_1−xFe_xO₃ (x=0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0) was synthesized from the citrate precursor route. The hexagonal crystal structure related to YMnO₃ was stable for x?0.3. Rietveld refinement was carried out on the composition for x=0.3 and was refined to a major hexagonal phase (∼97%) with 3% of orthorhombic Y(Fe/Mn)O₃ phase. The a-axis lattice constant increases and the c-axis lattice constant decreases with x for x?0.2. The increase in the c-axis lattice constant at x=0.3 could be due to the doping of significant amount of d⁵ ion (high spin Fe³⁺ ion) in a trigonal bipyramidal crystal field. The detailed structural, magnetic and dielectric properties are discussed.     

Non-Flammable Electrolyte Enables High-Voltage and Wide-Temperature Lithium-Ion Batteries with Fast Charging

Electrolyte design has become ever more important to enhance the performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the flammability issue and high reactivity of the conventional electrolytes remain a major problem, especially when the LIBs are operated at high voltage and extreme temperatures. Herein, we design a novel non-flammable fluorinated ester electrolyte that enables high cycling stability in wide-temperature variations (e.g., −50 °C–60 °C) and superior power capability (fast charge rates up to 5.0 C) for the graphite||LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂ (NCM811) battery at high voltage (i.e., >4.3 V vs. Li/Li⁺). Moreover, this work sheds new light on the dynamic evolution and interaction among the Li⁺, solvent, and anion at the molecular level. By elucidating the fundamental relationship between the Li⁺ solvation structure and electrochemical performance, we can facilitate the development of high-safety and high-energy-density batteries operating in harsh conditions.     

掺F影响LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2结构和性能的微观机制

以氟化锂为氟源,通过高温固相法合成了F掺杂的LiNi_(0.8)Co_(0.1)Mn_(0.1)O_2。采用X射线衍射仪(XRD)、扫描电镜(SEM)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)和电化学测试等手段研究F影响LiNi_(0.8)Co_(0.1)Mn_(0.1)O_2结构和性能的微观机制。结果表明:适量F掺杂可以提高正极材料的放电比容量,改善其倍率性、循环性和热稳定性。当F掺杂量(物质的量分数)为1.5%时,材料的综合电化学性能最优,初始放电比容量(0.2C)和50周循环容量保持率(1C)分别由原始的174.0 mAh·g~(-1)(78.7%)提高到178.6 mAh·g~(-1)(85.7%)。LiNi_(0.8)Co_(0.1)Mn_(0.1)O_2材料性能的改善可归因于F能够增强过渡金属层、锂层与氧层之间的结合力,提高材料的结构稳定性。此外,F掺杂还有利于降低电化学反应中的界面电阻和电荷转移阻抗。     

Enhanced rate capability and mitigated capacity decay of ultrahigh-nickel cobalt-free LiNi0.9Mn0.1O2 cathode at high-voltage by selective tungsten substitution

Owing to the further requirement for electric vehicle market, it is appropriate to lower the cost and improve the energy density of lithium-ion batteries by adopting the Co-free and Ni-rich layered cathodes. However, their practical application is severely limited by structural instability and slow kinetics. Herein, ultrahigh-nickel cobalt-free LiNi_0.9Mn_0.1O₂ cathode is elaborate designed via in-situ trace substitution of tungsten by a wet co-precipitation method following by high-temperature sintering. It is revealed that the in-situ doping strategy of high valence W⁶⁺ can effectively improve the structure stability by reducing irreversible phase transition and suppressing the formation of microcracks. Moreover, the transformed fine particles determined by W-doping can facilitate the kinetic characteristics by shortening Li⁺ diffusion paths. As expected, 0.3 mol% W-doped LiNi_0.9Mn_0.1O₂ cathode exhibits a high specific capacity of 143.5 mAh/g after 200 cycles at high rate of 5 C in the wide potential range of 2.8-4.5 V, representing a potential next-generation cathode with low-cost, high energy-density and fast-charging capabilities.     

Eu doping effects on structural and magnetic properties of (Sr2−xEux)FeMoO6 compounds

Double perovskite compounds (Sr_2−xEu_x)FeMoO₆ (0≤x≤0.3) were prepared by solid-state reaction at high temperature. Crystal structure, magnetic and transport properties of the compounds were investigated. The crystal structure of the compounds changes from an I4/m lattice to an Fm3¯m lattice around x=0.1. The unit-cell volume decreases with the doping level in both the I4/m lattice and the Fm3¯m lattice. The resistivity of the compounds shows a metal-semiconductor transition, and the transition temperature T_M-S increases with the doping level. However, Curie temperature (T_C) of the compounds exhibits a weak dependence on the doping level. The saturation magnetization (M_S) at 100 K varies almost linearly with the anti-site defect concentration and agrees well with the simple FIM model. In contrast to the Ce-, Pr-, Nd- and Sm-doped Sr₂FeMoO₆, the difference of M_S of (Sr_2−xEu_x)FeMoO₆ between 5 and 100 K indicates that the moment of Eu³⁺ is antiparellel to that of Fe³⁺ at low temperature.     

Nanoscale Surface Modification of Lithium‐Rich Layered‐Oxide Composite Cathodes for Suppressing Voltage Fade

Lithium‐rich layered oxides are promising cathode materials for lithium‐ion batteries and exhibit a high reversible capacity exceeding 250 mAh g⁻¹. However, voltage fade is the major problem that needs to be overcome before they can find practical applications. Here, Li_1.2Mn_0.54Ni_0.13Co_0.13O₂ (LLMO) oxides are subjected to nanoscale LiFePO₄ (LFP) surface modification. The resulting materials combine the advantages of both bulk doping and surface coating as the LLMO crystal structure is stabilized through cationic doping, and the LLMO cathode materials are protected from corrosion induced by organic electrolytes. An LLMO cathode modified with 5 wt % LFP (LLMO–LFP5) demonstrated suppressed voltage fade and a discharge capacity of 282.8 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 C with a capacity retention of 98.1 % after 120 cycles. Moreover, the nanoscale LFP layers incorporated into the LLMO surfaces can effectively maintain the lithium‐ion and charge transport channels, and the LLMO–LFP5 cathode demonstrated an excellent rate capacity.     

Structure,modification, and commercialization of high nickel ternary material (LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 and LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2) for lithium ion batteries

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811), as one of the most promising cathode materials for lithium ion batteries, has gained a huge market with its obvious...     

Neutron diffraction and magnetic study of the Nd0.7Pb0.3Mn1−xFexO3 (0?x?0.1) perovskites

The effect of Fe doping on the ferromagnetic Nd_0.7Pb_0.3Mn_1−xFe_xO₃ (x=0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, 0.1) phases has been studied in order to analyze the double-exchange interaction. The structural and magnetic study has been carried out by neutron powder diffraction and susceptibility measurements between 1.7 and 300 K. The substitution of Fe at the Mn site results in reductions in both the Curie temperature T_c and the magnetic moment per Mn ion without appreciable differences in the crystal structures. All the compounds crystallize in Pnma space group. The thermal evolution of the lattice parameters of the Nd_0.7Pb_0.3Mn_1−xFe_xO₃ (x=0.025, 0.05, 0.075) compounds shows discontinuities in volume and lattice parameters close to the magnetic transition temperature. Increasing amounts of Fe³⁺ reduces the double exchange interactions and no magnetic contribution for x=0.1 is observed. The magnetic structures of Nd_0.7Pb_0.3Mn_1−xFe_xO₃ (x=0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075) compounds show that the Nd and Mn ions are ferromagnetically ordered.     

Recycling Valuable Metals from Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries Using Carbothermal Shock Method

Pyrometallurgy technique is usually applied as a pretreatment to enhance the leaching efficiencies in the hydrometallurgy process for recovering valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries. However, traditional pyrometallurgy processes are energy and time consuming. Here, we report a carbothermal shock (CTS) method for reducing LiNi_0.3Co_0.2Mn_0.5O₂ (NCM325) cathode materials with uniform temperature distribution, high heating and cooling rates, high temperatures, and ultrafast reaction times. Li can be selectively leached through water leaching after CTS process with an efficiency of >90 %. Ni, Co, and Mn are recovered by dilute acid leaching with efficiencies >98 %. The CTS reduction strategy is feasible for various spent cathode materials, including NCM111, NCM523, NCM622, NCM811, LiCoO₂, and LiMn₂O₄. The CTS process, with its low energy consumption and potential scale application, provides an efficient and environmentally friendly way for recovering spent lithium-ion batteries.     

Characteristics of nanosized LiNi x Fe1−x PO4/C (x = 0.00–0.20) composite material prepared via sol–gel-assisted carbothermal reduction method

Pure LiFePO₄ and LiNi _x Fe_1?x PO₄/C (x?=?0.00–0.20) nanocomposite cathode materials have been synthesized by cheap and convenient sol–gel-assisted carbothermal reduction method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and inductively coupled plasma have been used to study the phase, morphology, and chemical composition of un-doped and Ni-doped materials. XRD patterns display the slight shrinkage in crystal lattice of LiFePO₄ after Ni²⁺ doping. The SEM images have revealed that Ni-doped particles are not agglomerated and the particle sizes are practically homogeneously distributed. The particle size is found between 50 and 100 nm for LiNi_0.20Fe_0.80PO₄/C sample. The discharge capacity at 0.2 C rate has increased up to 155 mAh g^?1 for the LiNi_0.05Fe_0.95PO₄/C sample and good capacity retention of 99.1 % over 100 cycles, while that of the unsubstituted LiFePO₄/C and pure LiFePO₄ has showed only 122 and 89 mAh g^?1, respectively. Doping with Ni has a noticeable effect on improving its electrical conductivity. However, serious electrochemical declension will occur when its doping density is beyond 0.05 mol LiNi_0.20Fe_0.80PO₄/C electrode shows only 118 mAh g^?1, which is less than un-doped LiFePO₄/C sample at 0.2 C. The cycling voltammogram demonstrates that Ni-doped LiNi_0.05Fe_0.95PO₄/C electrode has more stable lattice structure, enhanced conductivity, and diffusion coefficient of Li⁺ ions, in which Ni²⁺ is regarded to act as a column in crystal lattice structure to prevent the collapse during cycling process.     

A high-temperature structure for Ta2O5 with modulations by TiO2 substitution

Solid solutions in the series (1−x)Ta₂O₅−xTiO₂ with x=0.0-0.1 were prepared by high-temperature ceramic processing methods, and the crystal structure was determined at room temperature by transmission electron microscopy, electron diffraction and high-resolution lattice imaging. A structural model is proposed for the oxygen-deficient tantalum oxide (Ta₂O₅) phase with high TiO₂ doping level (x=0.08). The model is based on edge sharing of an oxygen octahedron-hexagonal bi-pyramid-octahedron molecular building block unit that repeats four times per unit cell. Electron diffraction reveals a monoclinic distortion from a pseudo-tetragonal model structure that is modulated primarily along 〈110〉. The modulation length varies with increasing TiO₂ content. Furthermore, by quantitative HREM analysis and matching of lattice images by simulation, it is shown that the modulation is associated with small ionic displacements in specific lattice planes that coincide with Ta ions in the model structure coordinated by oxygen hexagonal bi-pyramids. Based on this evidence, it is suggested that the modulation comes from a replacement of Ta with Ti ions, and the loss of inversion symmetry in the modulated structure is related to the dielectric properties of the material.     

Oxygen dissolution in polycrystalline palladium at O2 pressures of 0.1 to 100 Pa

Oxygen dissolution in polycrystalline palladium Pd(poly) at O₂ pressures ( $P_{O_2 } $ ) of 0.1 to 100 Pa and a temperature of 600 K has been investigated by temperature-programmed desorption. The dissolution process under these conditions includes O₂ chemisorption on the oxide film surface, the insertion of Oads atoms under the oxide layer, and their diffusion into the subsurface layers of palladium. During chemisorption, a structure ensuring that the O_ads coverage of the surface increases with increasing $P_{O_2 } $ forms on the surface of the oxide film. This is favorable for O_ads penetration through the oxide film and increases the amount of absorbed oxygen. The O_ads coverage of the surface calculated via the Langmuir equation at an O₂ desorption activation energy of E _des = 125 kJ/mol correlates with the number of absorbed oxygen monolayers (n). At n ≥ 1, oxygen absorption by Pd(poly) is due to the diffusion of O atoms in the palladium lattice. After the accumulation of 14–18 oxygen monolayers in the subsurface layers of palladium, oxygen absorption practically stops depending on $P_{O_2 } $ . Thus, the acceleration of oxygen dissolution in palladium is due to the formation of the surface oxide film and the increase in the O_ads coverage of this film, which facilitates the insertion of O_ads atoms into the subsurface layers of palladium.     

Surface modification of LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 with conducting polypyrrole

A facile method for the surface modification of high-voltage and high-temperature LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂ cathode materials is demonstrated. In order to prepare polypyrrole (PPy) coating LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂ material, the facile chemical polymerization method uses Fe(III) tosylate as oxidant and ethanol as solvent to avoid the side reaction with solvent. TEM depicts that LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂ serves as hard template and the nanoscale PPy layer grows along the surface of LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂ during the synthesis process. Because of flocculent and nanofiber coating layer, much improved rate performance, high temperature cycling, as well as high voltage performance are obtained. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) results demonstrate that the PPy coating layer effectively alleviates the side reactions between liquid electrolytes and LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂ surface that are highly unstable at high temperature and high charge voltage.