Single-crystal
LiNi1–x–y
Co
x
Mn
y
O2 cathode materials can effectively suppress
intergranular cracks that usually is seen in commercial polycrystal
LiNi1–x–y
Co
x
Mn
y
O2 cathode materials. However, the surface structure degradation
for single-crystal LiNi1–x–y
Co
x
Mn
y
O2 cathode materials is still aggravated at a
higher cutoff voltage (over 4.5 V). In this work, we prepare single-crystal
LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode
materials via a solid-state method and then coat an ultrathin Li–Si–O
layer on their surface by a wet coating method. The results show that
the single-crystal LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode materials with a Li–Si–O coating
layer deliver excellent cycling performance even at a higher cutoff
voltage of 4.5 V. The optimized Li–Si–O-modified sample
displays a capacity retention of 90.6% after 100 cycles, whereas only
68.0% for unmodified single-crystal LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2. Further analysis of the cycled electrodes
reveals that the surface structure degradation is the main reason
for the decrease of electrochemical performance of single-crystal
LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 at
a high voltage (4.5 V). In contrast, with Li–Si–O coating,
this phenomenon can be suppressed effectively to maintain interfacial
stability and prolong the cycling life.