A New Co-Free Ni-Rich LiNi<sub>0.8</sub>Fe<sub>0.1</sub>Mn<sub>0.1</sub>O<sub>2</sub> Cathode for Low-Cost Li-Ion Batteries
Yukun Xi, Mingjun Wang, Le Xu, Hirbod Maleki Kheimeh Sari, Wenbin Li, Junhua Hu, Yanyan Cao, Liping Chen, Linzhe Wang, Xiaohua Pu, Jingjing Wang, Yikun Bai, Xingjiang Liu, Xifei Li
Abstract
In recent years, with the rapid development of electric vehicles, the ever-fluctuating cobalt price has become a decisive constraint on the supply chain of the lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery industry. To address these challenges, a new and unreported cobalt-free (Co-free) material with a general formula of LiNi0.8Fe0.1Mn0.1O2 (NFM) is introduced. This Co-free material is synthesized via the coprecipitation method and examined by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and density functional theory (DFT) to investigate the morphological, crystal-structure, and electrochemical properties. The NFM cathode can deliver a specific capacity of 202.6 mA h g–1 (0.1C, 3.0–4.5 V), a specific energy capacity of 798.8 W h kg–1 in material level (0.1C, 3.0–4.5 V), a reasonable rate capability, and a stable cycling performance (81.1% discharge capacity retention after 150 cycles at 10C, 3.0–4.3 V). Although the research on this subject is still in its early stage, the capability of this novel cathode material as a practical candidate for applications in next-generation Co-free lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is highlighted in this study.