Structure regulation of O3-type layered cathode materials enables high-capacity and long-cycling sodium-ion batteries.

Enhanced π-conjugation and multi-electron transfer organic cathodes enabled high-performance zinc-ion storage.

Decoding the functional roles of multimetallic constituents in high-entropy prussian blue analogues for sodium-ion batteries.

Near-surface reconstruction in cobalt-free spinel positive electrodes for high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

Lithium-rich layered oxides (LLOs) emerge as promising cathode materials for next-generation high-performance Li-ion batteries (LIBs) due to their superior specific capacity characteristics. The similar ionic radii of Li+ (0.72 Å) and Ni2+ (0.69 Å) inevitably cause Li/Ni mixing. However, the relationship between Li/Ni mixing and the electrochemical performance of LLOs remains poorly understood. This study investigates LLOs with varying Li/Ni mixing ratios. The results indicate that an optimal increase in Li/Ni mixing can strengthen TM─O bond, reduce lattice strain, and thus enhance the cycling stability of LLOs. When the Li/Ni mixing further increases, Ni atoms tend to aggregate in the Li layer, which reduces the structural stability of LLOs and causes severe electrolyte decomposition. In comparison to the sample with lower Li/Ni mixing (1.90%), the LLOs with optimized Li/Ni mixing (4.07%) exhibit an enhancement in initial Coulombic efficiency from 83.0% to 87.4%, along with an improvement in capacity retention from 71.7% to 85.2% after 500 cycles at 1C. Moreover, the corresponding pouch cell maintains 82.5% capacity retention after 200 cycles at 0.3C. This study elucidates the impact of Li/Ni mixing ratio on the electrochemical performance of LLOs, providing valuable insights for synthesizing high-performance LLOs.

O3-type layered transition metal oxides are considered promising cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to their high capacity and favorable Na+ storage characteristics. However, their practical application is severely hindered by structural instability associated with multiphase transitions during electrochemical cycling. Herein, we propose a spatially selective multi-element substitution strategy that induces spatially differentiated distributions of Mg, Cu, Ti, and B, thereby enhancing structural robustness. This spatially differentiated substitution architecture synergistically improves structural stability by concurrently inhibiting interfacial degradation and strengthening the lattice framework. The optimized composition (NaNi0.4Mg0.05Cu0.05Mn0.3Ti0.2B0.05O2) enables a stabilized O3→P3 phase transition, which relieves lattice distortion and suppresses structural collapse upon cycling. Density functional theory (DFT) analysis reveals that the strong covalency of B─O bonds is crucial for anchoring the P3 framework. Hence, it delivers superior high-temperature performance in half cells and durable cycling in full cells (85% capacity retention after 300 cycles at 0.5 C within 1.9-3.9V). By elucidating the role of spatially selective substitution in structural stabilization, this work provides fundamental insights and paves the way for the design of advanced SIB cathodes.

High-nickel cobalt-free cathode materials are regarded as some of the promising candidates for high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries due to their excellent attributes of high capacity and cost-effectiveness. However, increasing the nickel content and removing cobalt lead to degradation of the electrode-electrolyte interfacial environment and other bulk-phase layered structure issues, which significantly compromise the battery's cycle life. In this work, a W-doped LiNi0.90Mn0.07Al0.03O2 cathode material was synthesized by introducing a small amount (2 mol%) of tungsten (W) during the lithiation procedure. The W-doping enhanced the cyclic stability of the LiNi0.90Mn0.07Al0.03O2 cathode (capacity retention after 100 cycles: 90.82% vs. 88.99% for the pristine material at 4.3 V) remarkably. These improvements are attributed to the high-valence W6+ passivating the cathode material surface activity, thereby stabilizing the bulk structure and electrode-electrolyte interface. These findings provide valuable strategic insights for developing high-nickel, cobalt-free cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries.

In the recycling process of spent lithium-ion batteries (SLIBs), rapid and effective separation of the cathode material and current collector aluminium (Al) foil is a significant and difficult step. However, traditional separation methods have some drawbacks, including high energy consumption and cost and toxicity. In this study, we selected oxalic acid (OA), a green and low-cost simple organic acid, as the separating agent. Within 6 minutes of oxalic acid treatment, more than 99% of the nickel-manganese-cobalt (NCM) cathode materials are separated from the current collector Al foil. The mechanism analysis shows that the reaction of oxalic acid with the surface of the Al foil destroys the connection between the Al foil and the adhesive, while the oxalate protective layer formed on the surface of the NCM cathode material prevents further corrosion of the NCM cathode material, maintaining a good structural integrity. This green and efficient separation method provides an economical and viable solution for SLIB regeneration or upcycling.

Regulating the pore structure of biomass-derived HC by zinc gluconate for high-performance sodium-ion battery.

High-voltage LiNi 0.5 Mn 1.5 O 4 (LNMO) cathode materials are highly needed for next generation lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In this study, citric acid, glycine, and sucrose fuels were used...

Organosulfur represents a class of promising candidates as cathode materials for rechargeable batteries. However, their development has been hindered by several key factors, including low discharge voltage, shuttle of polysulfides, and sluggish kinetics. Herein, tetramethylthiuram monosulfide (TMTM) is introduced as a functional substrate and composited with diphenyl tetrasulfide (PTS), which is denoted as PT14. During discharge, PTS generates benzenethiolate and sulfide anions, both of which can in situ react with TMTM forming new electrochemical reactive species. This design mitigates the polysulfide shuttle effect and enables rapid reaction kinetics. The Li-PT14 cell shows a high discharge voltage of 2.55V and retains 90% of the initial capacity after 700 cycles at a 1C rate. When the temperature is increased to 60°C, the cell retains 95% of the initial capacity after 500 cycles. When paired with a lithiated carbon paper anode (LiC) to form a full cell, it delivers a capacity retention of 97% after 840 cycles at N/P = 3.5 and 0.5 C rate. Furthermore, a 100 mAh pouch cell assembled with the PT14 cathode shows no capacity loss after 50 cycles. This work provides a new strategy to develop advanced rechargeable batteries based on organosulfur cathode materials.

A hybrid supercapacitor containing NiO microflowers as cathode material with enhanced energy storage performance.

This study probes stack-pressure effects in ASSFIBs with BiF 3 |BaSnF 4 |Sn cells. A high 180 MPa boosts cycling by improving F − transport, mitigating oxygen-related interfacial degradation and stabilizing phase evolution of BiF 3 cathodes.

Synthesis and characterization of lithium and sodium nickelates and cobaltates for application as cathode materials

Sustainable corrosion engineering synthesizes LiMn x Fe 1− x PO 4 cathode materials using metallic Mn/Fe in a recyclable ammonium system, achieving high atom economy and superior electrochemical performance for green production.

Upcycling zinc-carbon batteries for tunable manganese dioxides and zinc electrolytes in rechargeable batteries.

Improvement in potassium storage performance of magnesium-doped K3V3(PO4)4/C cathode materials

Li-rich manganese-based layered oxides (LRMO) cathode materials can deliver a high specific capacity of approximately 400 mAh g-1 under deep discharge conditions; however, they suffer from severe capacity degradation. In this work, the crystal structure evolution and strain variations of Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6O2 cathode materials within a wide voltage range (1.0-4.8 V) were systematically investigated using synchrotron X-ray diffraction (sXRD). As the voltage decreases below 2.0 V, the LRMO materials exhibit significant changes in microstrain, while variations in lattice parameters and unit-cell volume remain relatively small. These results indicate that the rapid capacity fading is primarily attributed to the accumulation of strain during over-lithiation.

H2-rich syngas production through separator pyrolysis over LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 pre-catalysts derived from spent lithium-ion batteries.

Enhancing the corrosion resistance of mullite-based composites for the calcination of Li-ion battery cathode materials via adding potassium feldspar