Building High-Rate Nickel-Rich Cathodes by Self-Organization of Structurally Stable Macrovoid.

Abstract

Nickel‐rich materials, as a front‐running cathode for lithium‐ion batteries suffer from inherent degradation issues such as inter/intragranular cracks and phase transition under the high‐current density condition. Although vigorous efforts have mitigated these current issues, the practical applications are not successfully achieved due to the material instability and complex synthesis process. Herein, a structurally stable, macrovoid‐containing, nickel‐rich material is developed using an affordable, scalable, and one‐pot coprecipitation method without using surfactants/etching agents/complex‐ion forming agents. The strategically developed macrovoid‐induced cathode via a self‐organization process exhibits excellent full‐cell rate capability, cycle life at discharge rate of 5 C, and structural stability even at the industrial electrode conditions, owing to the fast Li‐ion diffusion, the internal macrovoid acting as “buffer zones” for stress relief, and highly stable nanostructure around the void during cycling. This strategy for nickel‐rich cathodes can be viable for industries in the preparation of high‐performance lithium‐ion cells.