H₃PO₄ treatment to enhance the electrochemical properties of Li(Ni_1/3Mn_1/3Co_1/3)O₂ and Li(Ni_0.5Mn_0.3Co_0.2)O₂ cathodes

Journal Article · Tue Jan 29 00:00:00 EST 2019 · Electrochimica Acta

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2019.01.153· OSTI ID:1494595

Sahni, Karan ^[1]; Ashuri, Maziar ^[1]; He, Qianran ^[1]; Sahore, Ritu ^[2]; Bloom, Ira D. ^[2]; Liu, Yuzi ^[3]; Kaduk, James A. ^[1]; Shaw, Leon L. ^[1]

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1. Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States)
2. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
3. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Lemont, IL (United States)

In this paper, Li(Ni_1/3Mn_1/3Co_1/3)O₂ (NMC333) and Li(Ni_0.5Mn_0.3Co_0.2)O₂ (NMC532) have been subjected to a phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄) solution treatment to form a thin Li₃PO₄ coating on their surfaces. The Li₃PO₄ coating formed is found to be very potent in enhancing the specific capacity of the first discharge as well as the rate capability and capacity retention in the subsequent charge/discharge cycles for both NMC333 and NMC532. The specific capacity of the first discharge for NMC532 has been increased drastically from ~160 mA h g^–1 for pristine NMC532 to ~250 mA h g^–1 for Li₃PO₄-coated counterpart at 0.1C and such a large capacity enhancement is retained throughout the subsequent cycles at 1C. The final specific capacity of Li₃PO₄-coated NMC532 is 187 mA h g^–1 after 100 cycles at 1C, whereas the corresponding value of pristine NMC532 is only 50 mA h g^–1. The rate capability has also been improved significantly with Li₃PO₄-coated NMC532 exhibiting ~150 mA h g^–1 capacity at 6C while pristine NMC532 showing zero capacity. Similar improvements have also been achieved with NMC333. These results demonstrate that the H₃PO₄ treatment is a facile and general method to improve the electrochemical properties of NMCs with different compositions and can be utilized for practical applications.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 1494595
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1635868
• Journal Information: Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 301, Issue C; ISSN 0013-4686
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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