New insight into atomic-scale engineering of electrode surface for long-life and safe high voltage lithium ion cathodes

Abstract

Spinel LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) is a promising high voltage cathode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). However, dissolution of Mn and unwanted side reactions between LNMO and the electrolyte raises several safety issues while also resulting in deteriorated electrochemical performance of LIBs at high working voltages. Here, we report the use of ultrathin atomic layer deposited (ALD) AlPO4 thin film as a coating material for LNMO electrodes to circumvent the stated issues. The as-prepared AlPO4 coated LNMO demonstrates excellent capacity retention with prolonged cycle life compared to the bare one. Synchrotron based X-ray spectroscopy was employed to understand how ultrathin coating layer improve the cycle life, and then develop a detailed mechanism for the effect of coating layer. Our studies revealed that using atomic scale coating layer with improved thermal stability effectively impede the side-reactions occurrence at high voltage, resulting in significantly improved safety and electrochemical performances.