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Title: Intragranular cracking as a critical barrier for high-voltage usage of layer-structured cathode for lithium-ion batteries

Journal Article · · Nature Communications
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms14101· OSTI ID:1339807

LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 (NMC333) layered cathode is often fabricated as secondary particles of consisting of densely packed primary particles, which offers advantage of high energy density and alleviation of cathode side reactions/corrosions, but introduces other drawbacks, such as intergranular cracking. Here, we report unexpected observations on the nucleation and growth of intragranular cracks in the commercial NMC333 layered cathode by using advanced S/TEM. We found that the formation of the intragranular cracks is directly associated with high voltage cycling, which is an electrochemically driven and diffusion controlled process. The intragranular cracks were noticed to be characteristically initiated from grain interior, a consequence of dislocation based crack incubation mechanism. This observation is in sharp contrast with the general theoretical models, predicting the initiation of intragranular cracks from grain boundaries or particle surface. As a result, our study indicates that maintain a structural stability is the key step toward high voltage operation of layered cathode materials.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1339807
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-118952; 48379; KP1704020
Journal Information:
Nature Communications, Vol. 8; ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 536 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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