Simultaneous Single Crystal Growth and Segregation of Ni-Rich Cathode Enabled by Nanoscale Phase Separation for Advanced Lithium-Ion Batteries

Synthesis of high-performance single crystal LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 (NMC811) in the absence of molten salt is challenging with no success yet. An innovative drop-in approach is discovered to synthesize single crystal NMC811 by controlling the morphology of transition metal hydroxide TM(OH)2 precursors followed by a simple decomposition step to form transition metal oxide (TMO) intermediates. Ni redistribution in TMO, as a result of the concurrent formation of mixed spinel and rock salt phases, helps deagglomerate the later formed NMC811 clusters of single crystals. As-prepared single crystal NMC811 is validated in a 2Ah pouch cell demonstrating 1000 stable cycling. The fundamentally new reaction mechanism of single crystal growth and segregation without molten salt provides a new direction towards cost-efficient manufacturing of single crystal NMC811 cathode for advanced lithium-based batteries.
Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures