Tuning surface chemistry to reduce the step-like degradation of LiCoO2 at 4.6 V

Abstract

Elevating the cut-off voltage is an effective route to increase the energy density of LiCoO2 (LCO). However, the highly delithiated LCO faces the issues of poor structural reversibility, O loss, and Co dissolution, etc., especially in the surface region. Herein, the step-like surface degradation (SSD) of pristine LCO (P-LCO) is firstly revealed to be responsible for the rapid capacity decay. To reduce the adverse impact of SSD, a solid electrolyte is coated and annealed to achieve the optimized surface structure chemistry of LCO (SE-LCO), featuring the outermost surface Li3PO4, surface rock-salt layer, and subsurface spinel-like layer. Benefiting from this surface optimization, the SE-LCO not only shows an enhanced but more reversible phase transition to enhance the structure stability, but also promotes the formation of tough cathode electrolyte interface (CEI) to reduce the O loss and Co dissolution issues. As a result, SE-LCO/graphite cell achieves excellent cycle stability with a remarkable capacity retention of 81.2% after 800 cycles in a potential range of 3–4.55 V, which is among the best reported cell performances. This work broadens the cognition for developing more advanced LCO cathodes.