skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Mapping Competitive Reduction upon Charging in LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 Primary Particles

Journal Article · · Chemistry of Materials
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5]; ORCiD logo [6];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [2]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [3]
  1. Univ. of Illinois, Chicago, IL (United States); Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Lemont IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
  2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Advanced Light Source (ALS)
  3. Univ. of Illinois, Chicago, IL (United States)
  4. Binghamton Univ., NY (United States)
  5. Binghamton Univ., NY (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Advanced Light Source (ALS)
  6. Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, NJ (United States)
  7. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Lemont, IL (United States). Center for Nanoscale Materials
  8. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Lemont, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)

Side reactions involving surface reduction play a critical role in the failure of LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 to reach its theoretical capacity as a cathode material for Li-ion batteries. While macroscopic consequences are known, the underlying nanoscopic mechanisms are not fully elucidated. By coupling X-ray spectroscopy with several X-ray microscopy modalities, we have spatially resolved the extent of Ni oxidation at several states of charge and uncovered heterogeneity that is hidden when considering ensemble measurements alone. The use of morphologically controlled particles enabled high-resolution imaging of these materials, uncovering gradients of Ni oxidation states within individual primary particles. At high states of charge, these gradients revealed regions of possible oxygen deficiency extending deeper into the particle than previously observed. Surface-sensitive X-ray coupled scanning tunneling microscopy allows oxidation states to be measured at the material's surface, showing predominantly NiII in the first atomic layer and mixtures of NiII with NiIII/NiIV already appearing 1.5 nm into the particle. These results reveal the subtle interplay between irreversible surface transformations and the bulk reactions that ultimately define function, which will refine strategies of surface passivation that are key to overcoming current performance limitations.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS) and Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM); Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Northeastern Center for Chemical Energy Storage (NECCES); Binghamton Univ., NY (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Advanced Light Source (ALS)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357; SC0012583; AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1660267
Journal Information:
Chemistry of Materials, Vol. 32, Issue 14; ISSN 0897-4756
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 4 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (83)

Ultimate Limits to Intercalation Reactions for Lithium Batteries journal October 2014
Challenges in the development of advanced Li-ion batteries: a review journal January 2011
X-ray/Neutron Diffraction and Electrochemical Studies of Lithium De/Re-Intercalation in Li 1 - x Co 1/ 3 Ni 1/3 Mn 1/3 O 2 ( x = 0 → 1) journal April 2006
Capacity fade of LiAlyNi1−x−yCoxO2 cathode for lithium-ion batteries during accelerated calendar and cycle life tests (surface analysis of LiAlyNi1−x−yCoxO2 cathode after cycle tests in restricted depth of discharge ranges) journal July 2014
Narrowing the Gap between Theoretical and Practical Capacities in Li-Ion Layered Oxide Cathode Materials journal July 2017
Surface degradation of Li1–xNi0.80Co0.15Al0.05O2 cathodes: Correlating charge transfer impedance with surface phase transformations journal June 2016
Core Level Spectroscopy of Solids book January 2008
Electronic structural changes of the electrochemically Li-ion deintercalated LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 cathode material investigated by X-ray absorption spectroscopy journal December 2007
Unraveling the Degradation Process of LiNi 0.8 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 Electrodes in Commercial Lithium Ion Batteries by Electronic Structure Investigations journal August 2015
Surface-Sensitive X-Ray Absorption Study on LiNi[sub 0.8]Co[sub 0.15]Al[sub 0.05]O[sub 2] Cathode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries journal January 2007
Atomic Insight into the Layered/Spinel Phase Transformation in Charged LiNi 0.80 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 Cathode Particles journal January 2017
First-Principles Simulation of the (Li–Ni–Vacancy)O Phase Diagram and Its Relevance for the Surface Phases in Ni-Rich Li-Ion Cathode Materials journal September 2017
Investigating Local Degradation and Thermal Stability of Charged Nickel-Based Cathode Materials through Real-Time Electron Microscopy journal August 2014
Contribution of the Structural Changes of LiNi[sub 0.8]Co[sub 0.15]Al[sub 0.05]O[sub 2] Cathodes on the Exothermic Reactions in Li-Ion Cells journal January 2006
Correlating Structural Changes and Gas Evolution during the Thermal Decomposition of Charged Li x Ni 0.8 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 Cathode Materials journal January 2013
Facet-Dependent Rock-Salt Reconstruction on the Surface of Layered Oxide Cathodes journal January 2018
Surface reconstruction and chemical evolution of stoichiometric layered cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries journal March 2014
Ni and Co Segregations on Selective Surface Facets and Rational Design of Layered Lithium Transition-Metal Oxide Cathodes journal February 2016
Single-crystal based studies for correlating the properties and high-voltage performance of Li[Ni x Mn y Co 1−x−y ]O 2 cathodes journal January 2019
Revealing Anisotropic Spinel Formation on Pristine Li- and Mn-Rich Layered Oxide Surface and Its Impact on Cathode Performance journal January 2017
Investigation of Changes in the Surface Structure of Li x Ni 0.8 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 Cathode Materials Induced by the Initial Charge journal December 2013
Combining In Situ Synchrotron X-Ray Diffraction and Absorption Techniques with Transmission Electron Microscopy to Study the Origin of Thermal Instability in Overcharged Cathode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries journal June 2012
Investigating the Kinetic Effect on Structural Evolution of Li x Ni 0.8 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 Cathode Materials during the Initial Charge/Discharge journal March 2017
Microstructural Changes in LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 Positive Electrode Material during the First Cycle journal January 2011
In‐Depth TEM Investigation on Structural Inhomogeneity within a Primary Li x Ni 0.835 Co 0.15 Al 0.015 O 2 Particle: Origin of Capacity Decay during High‐Rate Discharge journal November 2019
Hidden Subsurface Reconstruction and Its Atomic Origins in Layered Oxide Cathodes journal March 2020
Capacity-Fading Mechanisms of LiNiO[sub 2]-Based Lithium-Ion Batteries journal January 2009
Determination of the mechanism and extent of surface degradation in Ni-based cathode materials after repeated electrochemical cycling journal September 2016
Understanding local degradation of cycled Ni-rich cathode materials at high operating temperature for Li-ion batteries journal September 2014
Visualization of Electrochemical Reactions in Battery Materials with X-ray Microscopy and Mapping journal April 2017
Mesoscale Battery Science: The Behavior of Electrode Particles Caught on a Multispectral X-ray Camera journal June 2018
Chemical composition mapping with nanometre resolution by soft X-ray microscopy journal September 2014
SHARP : a distributed GPU-based ptychographic solver journal July 2016
Dependence on Crystal Size of the Nanoscale Chemical Phase Distribution and Fracture in Li x FePO 4 journal June 2015
Near-edge X-ray refraction fine structure microscopy journal February 2017
A highly stabilized Ni-rich NCA cathode for high-energy lithium-ion batteries journal June 2020
Effect of Synthetic Parameters on Defects, Structure, and Electrochemical Properties of Layered Oxide LiNi 0.80 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 journal January 2018
Phases Formed in Al-Doped Ni[sub 1/3]Mn[sub 1/3]Co[sub 1/3](OH)[sub 2] Prepared by Coprecipitation: Formation of Layered Double Hydroxide journal January 2008
Reaction Heterogeneity in LiNi 0.8 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 Induced by Surface Layer journal August 2017
Ptychographic Imaging of Nano-Materials at the Advanced Light Source with the Nanosurveyor Instrument journal June 2017
A fast, direct x-ray detection charge-coupled device journal August 2009
A Threshold Selection Method from Gray-Level Histograms journal January 1979
scikit-image: image processing in Python journal January 2014
Unmixing of Hyperspectral Images using Bayesian Non-negative Matrix Factorization with Volume Prior journal October 2010
Interferometer-controlled scanning transmission X-ray microscopes at the Advanced Light Source journal February 2003
A unique polarized x-ray facility at the Advanced Photon Source journal March 2002
An easy-to-implement filter for separating photo-excited signals from topography in scanning tunneling microscopy journal June 2013
Elemental Fingerprinting of Materials with Sensitivity at the Atomic Limit journal October 2014
The CTM4XAS program for EELS and XAS spectral shape analysis of transition metal L edges journal October 2010
Investigation of inorganic compounds on the surface of cathode materials using Li and O K-edge XANES journal December 2007
Electrolyte-Induced Surface Transformation and Transition-Metal Dissolution of Fully Delithiated LiNi 0.8 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 journal June 2017
Li2CO3 in LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 cathodes and its effects on capacity and power journal August 2004
Distinct charge dynamics in battery electrodes revealed by in situ and operando soft X-ray spectroscopy journal October 2013
A review of Ni-based layered oxides for rechargeable Li-ion batteries journal January 2017
Quantitative probe of the transition metal redox in battery electrodes through soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy journal September 2016
Profiling the nanoscale gradient in stoichiometric layered cathode particles for lithium-ion batteries journal January 2014
In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy—A probe of cathode materials for Li-ion cells journal March 2006
Integrated X-ray L Absorption Spectra. Counting Holes in Ni Complexes journal October 1998
Direct Experimental Probe of the Ni(II)/Ni(III)/Ni(IV) Redox Evolution in LiNi 0.5 Mn 1.5 O 4 Electrodes journal November 2015
Revisiting the charge compensation mechanisms in LiNi 0.8 Co 0.2−y Al y O 2 systems journal January 2019
Evolution of the Electrode–Electrolyte Interface of LiNi 0.8 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 Electrodes Due to Electrochemical and Thermal Stress journal January 2018
Source Separation in Chemical Analysis : Recent achievements and perspectives journal May 2014
Combining scanning tunneling microscopy and synchrotron radiation for high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy with chemical, electronic, and magnetic contrast journal January 2012
Simultaneous scanning tunneling microscopy and synchrotron X-ray measurements in a gas environment journal November 2017
X-ray-excited photoelectron detection using a scanning tunneling microscope journal May 2008
Synchrotron X-Ray Scanning Tunneling Microscopy: Fingerprinting Near to Far Field Transitions on Cu(111) Induced by Synchrotron Radiation journal March 2013
Detecting element specific electrons from a single cobalt nanocluster with synchrotron x-ray scanning tunneling microscopy journal September 2017
Probing the oxidation state of transition metal complexes: a case study on how charge and spin densities determine Mn L-edge X-ray absorption energies journal January 2018
R NiO 3 perovskites ( R =Pr,Nd): Nickel valence and the metal-insulator transition investigated by x-ray-absorption spectroscopy journal December 1992
Spin-orbit-induced mixed-spin ground state in R Ni O 3 perovskites probed by x-ray absorption spectroscopy: Insight into the metal-to-insulator transition journal January 2005
Degradation analysis of a Ni-based layered positive-electrode active material cycled at elevated temperatures studied by scanning transmission electron microscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy journal September 2011
Capacity-Fading Mechanisms of LiNiO[sub 2]-Based Lithium-Ion Batteries journal January 2009
Tuning the Activity of Oxygen in LiNi 0.8 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 Battery Electrodes journal October 2016
Formation of an Anti-Core–Shell Structure in Layered Oxide Cathodes for Li-Ion Batteries journal October 2017
Surface Structural and Chemical Evolution of Layered LiNi 0.8 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 (NCA) under High Voltage and Elevated Temperature Conditions journal November 2018
Understanding Surface Densified Phases in Ni-Rich Layered Compounds journal February 2019
Singlet oxygen evolution from layered transition metal oxide cathode materials and its implications for lithium-ion batteries journal October 2018
Chemical versus Electrochemical Electrolyte Oxidation on NMC111, NMC622, NMC811, LNMO, and Conductive Carbon journal September 2017
Oxygen Release and Its Effect on the Cycling Stability of LiNi x Mn y Co z O 2 (NMC) Cathode Materials for Li-Ion Batteries journal January 2017
Unlocking the Potential of Cation-Disordered Oxides for Rechargeable Lithium Batteries journal January 2014
Mapping polaronic states and lithiation gradients in individual V2O5 nanowires journal June 2016
Multi-scale 3D investigations of a commercial 18650 Li-ion battery with correlative electron- and X-ray microscopy journal July 2017
Soft X-ray XANES studies of various phases related to LiFePO4 based cathode materials journal January 2012