High energy cathode material for long-life and safe lithium batteries.
Layered lithium nickel-rich oxides, Li[Ni{sub 1-x}M{sub x}]O{sub 2} (M=metal), have attracted significant interest as the cathode material for rechargeable lithium batteries owing to their high capacity, excellent rate capability and low cost. However, their low thermal-abuse tolerance and poor cycle life, especially at elevated temperature, prohibit their use in practical batteries. Here, we report on a concentration-gradient cathode material for rechargeable lithium batteries based on a layered lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide. In this material, each particle has a central bulk that is rich in Ni and a Mn-rich outer layer with decreasing Ni concentration and increasing Mn and Co concentrations as the surface is approached. The former provides high capacity, whereas the latter improves the thermal stability. A half cell using our concentration-gradient cathode material achieved a high capacity of 209 mA h g{sup -1} and retained 96% of this capacity after 50 charge-discharge cycles under an aggressive test profile (55 C between 3.0 and 4.4 V). Our concentration-gradient material also showed superior performance in thermal-abuse tests compared with the bulk composition Li[Ni{sub 0.8}Co{sub 0.1}Mn{sub 0.1}]O{sub 2} used as reference. These results suggest that our cathode material could enable production of batteries that meet the demanding performance and safety requirements of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- EE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 951578
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/CSE/JA-63272; TRN: US200912%%45
- Journal Information:
- Nature Mater., Vol. 8, Issue 4 ; Apr. 2009
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- ENGLISH
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