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Transmission electron microscopy studies of structural degradation behavior of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode materials

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Abstract

The variations in the structural and chemical features of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 (LMO2: L = Li, M = Ni0.6Co0.2Mn0.2) materials were investigated via transmission electron microscopy. The LMO2 materials were used as a cathode material in a Li-battery operated at cutoff voltages of 4.15 and 4.45 V, and subjected to as many as 2200 charge–discharge cycles. Charged and discharged materials of LMO2 had Li concentrations of 0 and ~16% at the surface region, respectively, while the c lattice constant varied by up to 2.5%. The spinel phase of Li(Ni0.6Co0.2Mn0.2)2O4 (LM2O4: L = Li, M = Ni0.6Co0.2Mn0.2) appeared reversibly during charging up to 1200 cycles at room temperature; however, the LM2O4 phase was irreversibly maintained when the battery was discharged up to 2200 charge–discharge cycles at the high temperature of 45 °C. In addition, the volume of the lattice cells of the layered LMO2 differed by ~6% from the equivalent of the spinel-type LM2O4 structures. On the other hand, two types of models were suggested for the generation of short-range-ordered (SRO)-type layered structures. In particular, the pseudo-SRO models are applicable to the surface region of the samples discharged, or the inner region of the sample discharged after being cycled like 2200 times at high temperature (45 °C).

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Acknowledgement

This study was financially supported by the LG Chemistry Corporation. The authors are also grateful for the use of the TEM facilities at Inha University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Inha University, Nam-gu, Incheon, 22212, South Korea

    Han-Sol Yun, Sang-Hyuk Lee & Nam-Hee Cho

  2. Battery R&D Center, LG Chem Ltd., 188, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, South Korea

    Dae-Jin Lee, Hye-Lim Jeon, Sin-Young Park & Wang-Mo Jeong

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  1. Han-Sol Yun
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  2. Sang-Hyuk Lee
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  3. Nam-Hee Cho
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  4. Dae-Jin Lee
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Correspondence to Nam-Hee Cho.

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Yun, HS., Lee, SH., Cho, NH. et al. Transmission electron microscopy studies of structural degradation behavior of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode materials. J Mater Sci 52, 8377–8390 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-1080-z

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