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Simultaneously enhanced electrochemical performance and air stability of Ni-rich cathode with a modified washing process

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Abstract

Water washing has been regarded as one of the most effective strategies to remove surface residual lithium of nickel-rich layered oxides for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the loss of lattice lithium during the water washing process deteriorates the electrochemical performances and air stability. Herein, washing the LiNi0.90Co0.08Al0.02O2 (NCA) with ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (NH4H2PO4) solution has been proposed to simultaneously enhance electrochemical performances and air stability, in which in-situ generated Li3PO4 coating layer on surface of NCA can suppress the loss of lattice lithium. Besides, as a fast ionic conductor, Li3PO4 coating layer on NCA can prevent the direct contact with electrolyte/air. As a result, the NH4H2PO4 solution washed NCA cathode can deliver a high capacity of 131.9 mAh·g−1 at 10.0C rate as well as impressive cycle stability with a capacity retention of 83.1% after 100 cycles at 1.0C, much higher than those of water washed NCA (WS-NCA) electrode. After exposed in air for 7 days, the NH4H2PO4 solution washed NCA electrode can more effectively maintain the structural integrity as well as the electrochemical performances than water-washed NCA. This work provides a simple and effective approach to enhance the cycle stability and air stability of Nickel-rich cathode materials.

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摘要

水洗被认为是去除锂离子电池中富镍层状氧化物的表面残留锂的最有效策略之一。然而, 晶格锂在水洗过程中的损失会降低富镍材料的电化学性能和空气稳定性。本文提出用 NH4H2PO4 溶液洗涤 LiNi0.90Co0.08Al0.02O2 （NCA）, 同时提高NCA的电化学性能和空气稳定性, 其中在NCA表面原位生成的Li3PO4涂层可以抑制晶格锂的损失, 此外, 作为一种快速离子导体, NCA上的Li3PO4涂层可以防止与电解质/空气的直接接触。因此, NH4H2PO4 溶液洗涤后的NCA阴极在10.0C下可提供 131.9 mAh·g−1 的高容量, 以及令人印象深刻的循环稳定性, 在1.0C下100次循环后容量保持率为 83.1%, 远高于水洗后的NCA电极。在空气中暴露7天后, NH4H2PO4 溶液洗涤后的NCA电极比水洗后的NCA更有效地保持了结构完整性和电化学性能。这项工作为提高富镍阴极材料的循环稳定性和空气稳定性提供了一种简单有效的方法。

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51874142), the Tip-top Scientific and Technical Innovative Youth Talents of Guangdong Special Support Program (No. 2019TQ05L903) and the Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by CAST (No. 2019QNRC001).

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  1. School of Environment and Energy, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Storage Materials, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Ben-Rui Hu, Ying-Yi Yuan, Yu-Cheng Wang & Xun-Hui Xiong

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Hu, BR., Yuan, YY., Wang, YC. et al. Simultaneously enhanced electrochemical performance and air stability of Ni-rich cathode with a modified washing process. Rare Met. 43, 87–97 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-023-02388-9

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