Facile Conversion of Commercial Coarse-Type LiCoO₂ to Nanocomposite-Separated Nanolayer Architectures as a Way for Electrode Performance Enhancement

Abstract

Coarse-type LiCoO2 is the state-of-the-art cathode material in small-scale lithium-ion batteries (LIBs); however, poor rate performance and cycling stability limit its large-scale applications. Here we report the modification of coarse-type LiCoO2 (LCO) with nanosized lithium lanthanum titanate (Li3xLa2/3-xTiO3, LLTO) through a facile sol-gel process, the electrochemical performance of commercial LiCoO2 is improved effectively, in particular at high rates. The crystalline structure of pristine LiCoO2 is not affected by the introduction of the LLTO phase, while nanosized LLTO particles are likely incorporated into the space of the LiCoO2 layers to form a LCO-LLTO nanocomposite, which separate the LCO layers with the increase of layer spacing to ∼100 nm. The LLTO incorporation through the facile post-treatment effectively reduces the charge-transfer resistance and increases the electrode reactions; consequently, the LLTO-incorporated LCO electrode shows higher capacity than LiCoO2 at a higher rate and prolonging cycling stability in both potential ranges of 2.7-4.2 V and 2.7-4.5 V, making it also suitable for high-rate operation. This novel concept is general, which may also be applicable to other electrode materials. It thus introduces a new way for the development of high rate-performance electrodes for LIBs for large scale applications such as electric vehicles and electrochemical energy storage for smart grids.

Pt/C–LiCoO2composites with ultralow Pt loadings as synergistic bifunctional electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction and evolution reactions

“…This well-known structure consists of alternating planes of coordinated Li and Co ions, which are separated by close-packed oxygen layers. 48,49 According to Rietveld renement of the XRD data, the lattice parameters were found to be a ¼ b ¼ 2.817(6)Å and c ¼ 14.05 (8) A (c/a ¼ 4.988), which were in alignment with the literature results, [48][49][50] and further suggested a well-formed layered structure of LiCoO 2 . The XRD of commercial Pt/C presents broad diffraction peaks, indicating the nanoscale crystalline characteristic of the Pt particles.…”

Self-assembled diphenylalanine peptide microtubes covered by reduced graphene oxide/spiky nickel nanocomposite: An integrated nanobiomaterial for multifunctional applications

“…The results obtained are consistent with the theoretical predictions described by Han et al [42], where the strength and resilience of the peptides were found to be greatly enhanced through their interaction with graphene. Accordingly, one can suppose that the rGO/Ni layer tends to participate in the peptide intramolecular interactions and integrates into the interchain of β-sheets in protein domains thus enhancing the stability of PMT/rGO/Ni structure [43].…”

Recent Advances and Prospects of Atomic Substitution on Layered Positive Materials for Lithium‐Ion Battery

“…Since the first commercialization of LIB in 1991, LCO and layered‐structured Co‐rich materials have been still frequently utilized as cathode materials for LIBs, especially for portable IT devices (e.g., smartphone, electric vehicles, and laptop), thanks to their high volumetric energy density. [ 22,23,32,74,102–110 ] Volumetric energy density of active materials of LIB is determined with three terms: discharge capacity, working voltage, and electrode density, as shown in the equation below. …”