Lithium Metal Oxide Research Articles

Enhancement of the Solar-Thermal Response of Flat-plate Collector Coated with a Heat-resistant Paint

Abstract: A commercially available heat-resistant paint (HRP) is used as the primary component of a composite coating for low-temperature flat collector system. The same is mixed with small amounts of carbon black powder (CBP), lithium metal oxide (LMO) powder or both in an attempt to enhance the coating solar-thermal conversion characteristics. The optical characteristics of these coatings are investigated by means of optical microscopy, optical spectrophotometry and measurement of reflectance. The solar-thermal conversion characteristics are investigated by measuring the maximum collector temperature due to exposure to solar radiation. Results show that the solar-thermal conversion (maximum temperature) of the collector plate can be improved with the addition of CBP and LMO particles at low concentrations. The solar-thermal characteristics of the coatings are reported and compared with those of different coatings. The coatings prepared in the present work can easily be applied on the collector surface, which makes them suitable for flat-plate collector systems. Keywords: Flat plat collector, Selective coating, Optical properties, Solar irradiance.

Flotation behavior of the most common electrode materials in lithium ion batteries

Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs) are complex devices composed by different valuable and toxic materials. After use they are commonly sent to landfill, which represents a serious environment problem and wasteful due to the loss of valuable materials. At the same time these devices are highly demanded for the electronic and the electric vehicle industry. Therefore, recycling arises as a big opportunity in terms recovery of these valuable and scarce raw materials produced in specific areas of the world. For this reason, several processing technologies have been proposed to recover and recycle these materials from spent batteries. Amongst these, froth flotation technology arises as a cost-effective technology for the recovery of anodic graphite from cathode materials in spent LIBs due to the high natural hydrophobicity of graphite.Experiments have been carried out in a 0.5 L laboratory flotation cell to demonstrate the potential of flotation as the separation process for the recycling of spent LiB materials. These experiments have focused on the separation of the binary mixtures of the three most important commercial cathode materials (LCO, NCA and NMC) and graphite and therefore simulates a completely liberated graphite/lithium metal oxide system, where the effect of organic binding materials is not present. A range of compositions, frothing agents and both collector and no collector kinetic flotation data has been obtained.The flotation results gave a graphite concentrate with recoveries between 96.64% and 99.63% and grades between 78.13% and 90.88 %. Regarding the lithium metal oxides, these resulted in low recoveries in the concentrate between 9.47% and 16.57% and grades between 9.59% and 16.09%. A low degree of entrainment of oxide particles was achieved ranging between 0.16 and 0.29, depending on processing conditions and particle size and the best results were achieved with mixtures using NCA cathode material. These experimental results are important because they demonstrate the potential of flotation separation, but also the importance of liberation of the materials, prior to flotation.

Lightest Metal Leads to Big Change: Lithium‐Mediated Metal Oxides for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

AbstractAs the lightest metal, the reversible insertion/extraction properties of lithium have been key findings in lithium metal oxide chemistry. Lithium has been widely used in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and the reaction mechanism of lithium‐mediated metal oxides has both similarities and uniqueness compared to typical dual metal oxides. Notably, the insertion/extraction of lithium during the OER is also crucial for the construction of novel surface reconstruction models. This review aims to provide the concepts of general OER pathways and key features of dual metal oxides for the OER. As a comparison then the development of lithium metal oxides for the OER is introduced and the chemistry underlying lithium metal oxide catalysts is unveiled. This review also examines the challenges remaining for the relevant catalysts, with prospects for further improving their OER activities.

Novel Acrylonitrile-Based Polymers for Solid–State Polymer Electrolyte and Solid-State Lithium Ion Battery

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) involving lithium metal oxides, liquid electrolyte and graphite have been widely used in portable electronic devices due to their relatively high energy density and long cycle life. These desirable features make LIBs very attractive as the power source for electronic devices, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs) applications [1, 2]. For future EV applications, higher energy density of LIBs up to 360 Wh kg-1 is required. Currently, the energy density of the state-of-the-art LIBs using conventional graphite anode, LiFePO4 (denoted as LFP) or LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 (NCM523) cathodes and 1-1.2 M LiPF6 in organic carbonate electrolytes provide practically achievable energy densities of up to around 200-260 Wh kg−1 [3]. When commercial graphite anodes are used, LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 (NCA), LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811), LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) and LiNiPO4 (LNP) cathode based batteries with high-voltage provide energy densities of 354, 338, 351 and 414 Wh kg-1, respectively. However, LIBs using these high-voltage cathode materials and the organic carbonate electrolytes exhibit quite low thermal stability and tend to catch fire or even explode when abnormal charge/discharge cycling or accidental penetration of cells occurs, which greatly limits the automotive applications. When replacing graphite with a Li metal anode, the energy densities of all battery systems can be enhanced significantly due to the highest theoretical specific energy density (3860 mAh g-1) among all anode materials for rechargeable LIBs. Nevertheless, commercial LIBs are prone to cause safety problems due to the safety concern arising from Li dendrite growth in liquid organic electrolytes [4-6].The promising solid-state LIBs offer high thermal stability (i.e., low risk in catching fire), high energy density, wide electrochemical stability window and less environmental impact. A competent electrolyte is the key component of solid-state LIBs. The solid-state electrolyte materials are mainly classified as solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs), inorganic solid electrolytes (ISEs), and organic/inorganic composite electrolytes. ISEs include oxide-based and sulfide-based materials [7, 8], which show very high ionic conductivity (10-2 – 10-3 S cm-1). Furthermore, the lithium ion transference number is close to 1. However, the major limitation factors of practical solid-state LIB applications are the large interfacial impedance between electrode and ISE and the difficulty of processing [9]. Considering processability, mechanical flexibility, interfacial compatibility and electrochemical stability, one prefers SPEs to the inorganic ceramic electrolytes. Nevertheless, SPEs have low ion conductivities (10−7 − 10−5 S cm−1 near room temperature) and most of the Li+ transference numbers are lower than 0.5 [10, 11]. The major requirements for SPEs include high ionic conductivity and transference number at room temperature, wide electrochemical potential window, high mechanical strength and excellent thermal stability. However, the ion conductivity is the most important (> 10-4 S cm-1 at room temperature desired) and should be considered first. The coordinating groups of a good polymeric host are expected to interact with Li+ and facilitate dissociation.In this study, we prepared various novel acrylonitrile-based polymers (e.g., acrylonitrile/acrylate copolymer and polymer with two pendant groups b-cyano ethyl ether (-O-CH2CH2-CN) sulfonate alkyl ether (-O-(CH2)3SO3Li). The corresponding SPEs comprising acrylonitrile-based polymer and ca. 50 wt.% lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) with high ionic conductivity (up to 10-3 S cm-1) at room temperature, high ion transfer number (up to 0.45) and large electrochemical potential window (oxidation stability > 5 V vs. Li+/Li) achieved. The selected SPEs were used as the separator in solid-state batteries with LiFePO4 as the cathode and Li foil as the anode; and long-term cycle stability of solid-state LIB was achieved. The polymers and corresponding SPEs were characterized by using DSC, SEM, XRD and FTIR measurements. Ionic conductivities of SPEs were determined from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy results. The linear sweep voltammetry technique was adopted to measure the oxidation stability window of SPE, and the Evans-Vincent-Bruce method was used to determined ion transfer number.

Synthesis and Characterization of Cobalt Free LiNiO<sub>2</sub> Substituted by Al-Doping from Beverage Cans via Solid-State Method

Lithium metal oxide such as NMC and NCA have been widely commercialized as electric vehicles. However, the cobalt content in the material is harmful to the environment, toxic, and expensive. This research aims to create a cathode material with a lower cost, efficient, and eco-friendly by extracting aluminum from the beverage cans waste as a cation-doping on the substitution of nickel material elements to repair material stability and electrochemistry performance. This study synthesized LNO cathode material by a solid-state method because it is low production cost and easy to synthesize. The extraction of beverage can waste successfully synthesized into alumina compounds corresponding to JCPDS card No. 29-0063. LNO cathode materials were prepared with a stoichiometric composition variation of LNO-P, LNO-Al 0.03, LNO-Al 0.07, and LNO-Al 0.1. Materials that have been successfully synthesized will be tested by X-Ray Diffraction to indicate that the material has a layered-hexagonal structure with high degree ordering. Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy tests to determine the composition of functional groups on LNO materials. The Scanning Electron Microscope analyzes the shape and morphology of surface material particles. Electrochemical testing uses cylinder batteries with a current of 0.1 C (1 C = 200 mA g-1) and a voltage of 2.6-4.3 volts, where obtained batteries LNO-P, LNO-Al 0.03, LNO-Al 0.07, and LNO-Al 0.1 with discharge capacity of 4.22 mAh g-1, 31.82 mAh g-1, 36.67 mAh g-1, and 37.48 mAh g-1

Joint recovery of graphite and lithium metal oxides from spent lithium-ion batteries using froth flotation and investigation on process water re-use

Spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) contain critical raw materials that need to be recovered and recirculated into the battery supply chain. This work proposes the joint recovery of graphite and lithium metal oxides (LMOs) from pyrolyzed black mass of spent LIBs using froth flotation. Since flotation is a water-intensive process, the quality of the aqueous phase directly impacts its performance. In pursuit of an improved water-management strategy, the effect of process water recirculation on black mass flotation is also investigated. The fine fraction (<90 µm) of the black mass from pyrolyzed and crushed spent LIBs was used. After flotation, 85% of the graphite in the overflow product and 80% of the LMOs in the underflow product were recovered. After flotation with 8 wt% solids, the process water contained about 1,000 mg/L Li and accumulated up to 2,600 mg/L Li after three cycles. The flotation with process water showed no significant impact on the recovery and grade of flotation products, suggesting the feasibility of water recirculation in black mass flotation.

Experimental and theoretical study on enhanced electrochemistry of aluminum substitution LLZO garnet solid electrolytes

Although the wider electrochemical window, higher temperature stability, and better battery safety of Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) electrolytes than organic liquid, organogels, and polyelectrolytes, the limited ionic conductivity still far away from the practical electrochemical applications. Herein, LLZO electrolytes were by solid phase method. In order to further improve its electrochemical performance, aluminum substitution was introduced to replace Li+ sites and thus the highly conductive cubic phase was stabilized. The results show that with the increase of the substitution amount, the ion conductivity presents a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. It was found that 0.15Al-LLZO ceramics presented optimized ionic conductivity (1.184 × 10–4 S·cm−1) and 92.5% of bulk density at 1150 °C for 21 h treatment. On the other hand, with the combination of molecular simulations, the relationship between the influence of aluminum substitution on the differential charge density of the garnet solid electrolyte and the electrochemical performance was investigated. It is believed that such an experimental-modeling combination will expand the fundamental understanding of elements variation/substitution effects on solid electrolytes, especially for lithium metal oxides.

Pre-Lithiation Strategies and Energy Density Theory of Lithium-Ion and Beyond Lithium-Ion Batteries

Pre-lithiation is the most effective method to overcome the initial capacity loss of high-capacity electrodes and has the potential to be used in beyond-conventional lithium-ion batteries. In this article we focus on two types of pre-lithiation: the first type can be applied to batteries in which the cathode has been fully lithiated but the anode has a large initial capacity loss, such as batteries made with lithium metal oxide cathode and silicon-carbon anode. The second type can be applied to batteries in which both electrodes are initially lithium-free and suffer a loss of lithium during the initial cycles, such as batteries made with sulfurized-polyacrylonitrile cathode and silicon-carbon anode. We describe the pre-lithiation procedures and electrode potential profiles during pre-lithiation corresponding to different pre-lithiation sources for both types of pre-lithiation. We also derive formulas for the theoretical specific energy and energy density that are based entirely on measurable parameters such as specific capacities, porosities, mass densities of two electrodes and extra lithium source, Coulombic efficiencies of electrodes, and the voltage of the cell. These formulas can be applied to different pre-lithiation sources to predict the specific energy of conventional and beyond-conventional lithium-ion batteries as a function of the type of pre-lithiation.

Topological Quantum Cathode Materials for Fast Charging Li‐Ion Battery Identified by Machine Learning and First Principles Calculation

AbstractFast charging electrode materials require excellent ion conductivity as well as high and stable electrical conductivity. However, the main commercial cathode materials are semiconducting transition metal oxides suffering from low electrical conductivity, so cathode materials with good electrical conductivity are highly desirable. It is well‐known that topological quantum materials (TQMs) can exhibit robust electrical conductivity, thus providing a promising solution to this problem. The key question becomes which TQMs can have high ionic conductivity. Herein, such topological quantum cathode materials for fast charging Li‐ion battery are identified by using machine learning combined with first‐principle calculation, where the supervised regression models are trained for diffusion energy barrier prediction. Among 7385 TQMs, 20 materials are found to have a diffusion energy barrier less than 1.0 eV. Especially, LiMnAs exhibits a reversible capacity of 195.9 mAh g−1, higher than that of commercial cathodes while with comparable diffusion energy barrier. Furthermore, LiMnAs shows high interface stability with selected solid lithium metal oxides electrolytes. This study not only opens a new path to developing novel cathode materials, but also expands the applications of TQMs.

Improving Separation Efficiency in End-of-Life Lithium-Ion Batteries Flotation Using Attrition Pre-Treatment

The comminution of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) produces a powder containing the active cell components, commonly referred to as “black mass.” Recently, froth flotation has been proposed to treat the fine fraction of black mass (&lt;100 µm) as a method to separate anodic graphite particles from cathodic lithium metal oxides (LMOs). So far, pyrolysis has been considered as an effective treatment to remove organic binders in the black mass in preparation for flotation separation. In this work, the flotation performance of a pyrolyzed black mass obtained from an industrial recycling plant was improved by adding a pre-treatment step consisting of mechanical attrition with and without kerosene addition. The LMO recovery in the underflow product increased from 70% to 85% and the graphite recovery remained similar, around 86% recovery in the overflow product. To understand the flotation behavior, the spent black mass from pyrolyzed LIBs was compared to a model black mass, comprising fully liberated LMOs and graphite particles. In addition, ultrafine hydrophilic particles were added to the flotation feed as an entrainment tracer, showing that the LMO recovery in overflow products is a combination of entrainment and true flotation mechanisms. This study highlights that adding kerosene during attrition enhances the emulsification of kerosene, simultaneously increasing its (partial) spread on the LMOs, graphite, and residual binder, with a subsequent reduction in selectivity.

Thermal stability of Lithium-ion batteries: Case study of NMC811 and LFP cathode materials

The rising need for safe and cost-efficient energy storage systems has urged researchers to deploy more efforts into finding solutions for the thermal runaway issue especially in layered lithium metal oxide cathodes. In this work, the thermal stability of two kinds of prepared cathodes, layered oxide LiNi0.8M0.1Co0.1O2 (NMC811) and phospho-olivine LiFePO4 (LFP), was studied and compared to the commercial ones. To this end, the thermal behavior of the electrodes at 100% state-of-charge was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The obtained results showed that LFP cathodes are thermally stable compared of NMC811.

The Role of Metal Oxides in Li-S Batteries: A High-Areal-Capacity Sulfur Composite Cathode Investigation

Compared to lithium-ion batteries (LIB), lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have low cost and high theoretical specific energy (2510 Wh/kg or about 10 times of the LIB). However, Li-S batteries have several challenges, including large volume expansion, poor utilization of the end products, sluggish kinetics of polysulfides, and crossover, so-called the “shuttle effect”.To address these issues, we have introduced metal oxides to the Li-S electrode to develop a metal-oxide-sulfur composite electrode. We aim to use metal oxides to assist the Li-S formation (dissociation) during discharge (charge) cycles. We elect to focus on LIB-based metal oxides to ensure that the added material can contribute storage capacity to the battery. Our cathodes are fabricated by both the conventional slurry casting and air-controlled electrospray. LIB electrode materials, such as Li(Ni0.6Mn0.6Co0.2)O2, LiMn2O4, Li2TiO3, etc, were incorporated with the sulfur-carbon composite and their charge-discharge performances are compared. We found that the presence of metal oxides increased sulfur utilization with stable cycling performance, even in cells with high areal capacities. To unveil the interactions between lithium metal oxides and sulfur, the cathodes were analyzed by various characterization techniques, including scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and electrochemistry. The analysis of the role of the oxides will be presented along with the reaction mechanism.

NeocarbonixTM Electrodes for Li-Ion Batteries: Increased $/Kwh Savings and Scalability

Energy storage electrodes are often limited in their electrochemical stability and electrical performance by polymer binders used in the active material layer. Binders are also used to adhere the active material to the current collector. Binders are usually polymeric resins used in electrodes to mechanically hold active material powders together. Active materials may be graphite, silicon-carbon, silicon oxides for anodes, and lithium metal oxides for cathodes in the case of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). They can also be high surface area activated carbons, in the case of EDLCs. The binders are a passive component in energy storage electrodes and they carry limitations in terms of electrical conductivity, thermal stability and chemical stability.Capacity and C-rate capabilities in LIBs and ESR in EDLCs suffer because electrically insulating inactive binder material takes up space within the electrode material. Meanwhile lifetime at temperature and voltage can suffer as the binder material interacts with the internal electrochemical system of the energy storage device. Additionally, thermal stability of the electrode can be limited both by the electrochemical activity of the binder material as well as phase transitions of the binder material. Performance of energy storage systems using conventional electrodes in particularly high power applications may be limited by the thermal stability of the binder as well. Internal heat dissipation in those applications can be a serious concern when combined with ambient temperatures, especially in space-constrained environments or in applications where thermal management is at a premium. Energy density is also limited by the thickness of active materials that a standard coating process with binder-containing slurry can yield. Finally, cost of electrode production is dramatically impacted by the slurry drying step, as strong solvents with high boiling point (e.g. NMP) must be used to dissolve polymer binders, and are difficult to evaporate.Nanoramic has developed an alternate solution - NeocarbonixTM - an electrode platform technology that effectively replaces polymer high molecule binders PVDF. Results have been demonstrated for both LIB cathodes and EDLC electrodes. Nanoramic's Neocarbonix electrodes have significantly lower ESR, better C-rate capabilities, greater active material thickness for improved energy density, while also retaining or improving specific capacity. Lifetime at high temperature is also significantly improved, because of the increased thermal and chemical stability of the electrodes.Electrode production cost is also dramatically reduced, as the Neocarbonix process is solvent-agnostic. The solvent can be selected to speed up the drying process during coating, which dramatically improves the production throughput. Neocarbonix is compatible with standard roll-to-roll manufacturing equipment and is easily recyclable.In this presentation, Nanoramic will present a Neocarbonix Li-ion battery design combining high areal capacity loading (>5.2 mAh/cm2) Neocarbonix NMP/PVDF binder free NMC811 cathode and Si-C dominant anode electrodes which can achieve 350 Wh/kg and 900 Wh/L in energy density, and the cost of manufacturing such battery cell can be reduced from $97-116/kWh to ~$79/kWh, which improves 30% energy density and reduces 20% cost in $/kWh compared with conventional Li-ion battery NMC||Graphite technology as shown in the figure below. The battery cell prototype shows an excellent cycle life of 1000 cycles with 70% energy retention. Figure 1

Reactive Oligomer Coating Cathode Active Material for Improved Lithium-Ion Battery Performance and Safety

Lithium-ion battery (LIB) releases significant heat when the lithium metal oxide cathode is subjected to abnormal heating originating from irreversible chemical reactions of the electrode with electrolyte (often accompanied by gaseous combustion), thereby leading to thermal runaway and ultimately disastrous explosion [1-3]. Thermal runaway of LIBs can be triggered by several factors such as over-charge, over-temperature, mechanical damage, etc. In an attempt to resolve the safety issue of LIBs, several protection techniques have been employed externally or internally. The external protection mechanisms include the current interruptive devices, positive temperature coefficient devices, current limiting fuses and diodes (blocking/bypass). By contrast, the internal protection mechanisms focus on the individual components such as electrodes, separators and electrolytes with an aim to make the battery system intrinsically safer against hazard [4-6].Recently, in order to overcome the disastrous thermal runaway problem of LIBs, a self-terminated oligomer was prepared by the polymerization of N,N'-bismaleimide-4,4'-diphenylmethane (BMI) with barbituric acid (BTA). This unique oligomer was then coated on the pellet surface of cathode active materials to greatly reduce the risk of thermal runaway [7, 8]. However, the discharge capacity of LIBs with such oligomer being coated on the cathode active materials was lower than that of LIBs without the oligomer inside [7]. Thus, how to balance between the reduction in the risk of thermal runaway and the maintenance of the satisfactory electrochemical performance of LIBs becomes a crucial issue.In this study, we prepared novel reactive oligomer from polymerization of BMI with nucleophile (e.g., cyanuric acid (CA)) was coated on the pellet surface of cathode active materials (LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2) for improved performance properties and high safety of LIB. The LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 pellets modified by 0.5-1 wt% BMI/CA oligomer exhibited much higher discharge capacity as compared to the native LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 at 25 and 55 oC. The solid electrolyte interface (SEI) formed on the cathode active material pellets after 100 charge/discharge cycles was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. A small amount of BMI/CA oligomer (as the cathode additive) greatly reduced undesirable side reactions between the electrode and electrolyte, thereby leading to relatively stable LIBs performance. Finally, the thermal stability of delithiated coin-cell LIBs were investigated at 150 oC. The thermal stability of the coin-cell LIB associated with 1.0 wt% BMI/CA coated LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode material is better than that of the coin-cell LIB with pristine LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode materials.

Propylene Carbonate Based Electrolyte for Extended Cycle Life Lithium-Ion Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) are rapidly taking over the electric vehicle (EV) industry as the main energy storage system. They provide high energy efficiency, good high-temperature performance, and low self-discharge. LIB is generally made up of a lithium metal oxide or phosphate cathode, a graphite anode, a polymer separator and a liquid electrolyte solution. The electrolyte is comprised of a lithium salt dissolved in a mixture of carbonates, such as ethylene carbonate (EC), dimethyl carbonate (DMC), ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC), etc. The melting point of ethylene carbonate (EC, 39°C) is higher than that of its analogue propylene carbonate (PC, –48 °C) and the latter also offers higher solubility of Li salt. Therefore, PC is an attractive candidate to improve the low temperature charge/discharge capacity and the fast charge capability. Several groups have attempted to replace EC by PC. However, co-intercalation of PC-solvated Li+ results in serious exfoliation of graphite layers and a faster degradation of battery cycle life. We used a combination of additives in PC based liquid electrolyte containing LiPF6 salt, to address this issue. The developed electrolyte offers superior cycle life for the NMC/graphite pouch cell. The rationale for improved performance was analyzed with the help of characterization techniques such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), high precision coulometry (HPC), NMR and gas analysis.

Li-Ion Battery Aging Parameter: Porosity Behavior Analysis Using Magnetic Field Probing

Ageing in Li-ion batteries is a prime concern, due to the rapid increase of their use as a power source for numerous applications from stationary applications to automotive industries. During a battery lifetime, state of health is deteriorating due to irreversible physical and chemical changes like loss of active Li+ ions, internal resistance rise, solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) growth, electrolyte oxidation and loss of active electrode material. This paper aims to demonstrate the potential of a non-invasive method: Magnetic Field Probing (MFP) for monitoring loss of porosity due to ageing in the battery. A multi-physics model using COMSOL Multiphysics simulation tool evaluates the magnetic field response, battery polarization (ohmic potential drop) and internal resistance (IR) of the Li-ion battery. The electrode porosity variation has a significant influence on the magnetic field response (MFR). The analysis shows that the porosity loss at graphite electrode has a major impact on the battery ageing factors (polarization and internal resistance). Moreover, research work infers that the MFR and IR have higher sensitivity at the anode. Approach: The Li-ion battery works on rock n chair concept. Li-ions travels back and forth between electrodes. The concentration of Li-ion shows the amount of energy the battery contains. During simulation the external magnetic field is applied with Li-ion battery module.Li-ion is a paramagnetic ion that alters the magnetic field. At anode, the change in Li-ions concentration during cycling will certainly change the applied magnetic field.Lithium metal oxide is used as cathode material. During charge-discharge cycle, lithium metal oxide converts to metal oxide. The process changes the phase and valency of metal ions. The phase and valency change of ions affect its magnetic properties and alters the value of applied magnetic field.The model uses LiMn2O4 as the cathode, LiC6 as the anode, and the electrolyte consists of LiPF6 salt in 1:2 EC:DMC solvent. A bidirectional coupling is used between the Li-ion battery an external applied magnetic field. Physics based Li-ion battery model equations and standard Maxwell's and Lorentz force equations are coupled Figure 1

A contribution to understanding the flotation behavior of lithium metal oxides and spheroidized graphite for lithium-ion battery recycling

The treatment of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) using froth flotation has recently gained interest as a method to separate valuable lithium transition-metal oxides (LMOs) and graphite particles from the so-called “black mass” mixture. However, the flotation mechanisms of the cathode active particles have not been properly discussed so far, likely since they are generally accepted to be hydrophilic and are thus expected to remain suspended in the bulk phase and recovered in the underflow. Nevertheless, the froth phase products reported in the literature often contain more than 10% LMOs. This results in losses of cathode materials, while hampering the quality of the recovered anode components. As graphite is one of the main materials used for anode manufacturing, being categorized as a critical raw material, its recovery plays an essential role in the electric vehicle revolution. This work provides the first fundamental study on the flotation mechanisms of the fine particulate black mass components, with the aim of properly identifying the challenges to overcome in order to drive selectivity in froth flotation separation. A series of analysis using model black mass were carried out to circumvent the influence of residual hydrophobic binder found in LIB waste. Studies of wettability with captive bubble and Washburn capillary rise methods show contact angles for LMOs varying from 14° to 52.6° depending on the technique used. Using a bubble-particle attachment set-up it was found that LMO particles can attach to air bubbles spontaneously and in measurable quantities, contrary to the commonly assumed hydrophilic character of cathode active particles. It was also observed that the typically used oil-based collectors (e.g., Escaid 110) interact with both spheroidized graphite and lithium metal oxides, increasing their hydrophobicity and promoting agglomeration. Finally, the particle agglomeration of black mass components provides another flotation mechanism for LMOs through entrapment.

Interface-Stabilized Layered Lithium Ni-Rich Oxide Cathode via Surface Functionalization with Titanium Silicate.

Nickel-rich lithium metal oxide cathode materials have recently be en highlighted as next-generation cathodes for lithium-ion batteries. Nevertheless, their relatively high surface reactivity must be controlled, as fading of the cycling retention occurs rapidly in the cells. This paper proposes functionalized nickel-rich lithium metal oxide cathode materials by a multipurpose nanosized inorganic material-titanium silicon oxide-via a simple thermal treatment process. We examined the topologies of the nano-titanium silicate-functionalized nickel-rich lithium metal oxide cathodes with scanning electron microscopy and quantitatively analyzed their improved mechanical properties using microindentation. The cell containing nickel-rich lithium metal oxide cathodes suffered from poor cycling behavior as the electrolytes persistently decomposed; however, this behavior was effectively inhibited in the cell by nano-titanium silicate-functionalized nickel-rich lithium metal oxide cathodes. Further ex situ analyses indicated that the particle hardness of the nano-titanium silicate-functionalized nickel-rich lithium metal oxide cathode materials was maintained, and decomposition of the electrolyte by the dissolution of transition metals was thoroughly inhibited even after 100 cycles. Based on these results, we concluded that the use of nano-titanium silicate as a coating material for nickel-rich lithium metal oxide cathode materials is an effective way to enhance the cycling performance of lithium-ion batteries.

High voltage aqueous Zn/LiCoO2 hybrid battery under mildly alkaline conditions

Rechargeable aqueous zinc-based batteries (RAZBs) are attractive alternatives for lithium-ion batteries due to their non-flammability, low cost, and high volumetric capacity. However, the lack of durable high potential cathode materials restricts the voltage of RAZBs. Many high potential cathodes are layered lithium metal oxides (e.g., LiCoO2), which oftentimes degrade in aqueous acidic or neutral electrolytes. This work reports a 1.99 V aqueous Zn/LiCoO2 hybrid battery with remarkable cycling stability and excellent rate capability. The outstanding performance is rendered by aqueous mildly alkaline ammonia-containing electrolyte (MAAE) that promotes the reversibility of LiCoO2 cathode and inhibits the dendrite growth of Zn anode. This novel aqueous electrolyte unlocks exciting promises towards advanced aqueous zinc-based batteries with high voltage and high energy density.

Increased Performance Improvement of Lithium-Ion Batteries by Dry Powder Coating of High-Nickel NMC with Nanostructured Fumed Ternary Lithium Metal Oxides

Increased Performance Improvement of Lithium-Ion Batteries by Dry Powder Coating of High-Nickel NMC with Nanostructured Fumed Ternary Lithium Metal Oxides