Researchers have found that electrochemical tuning of Ni-rich cathodes can suppress structural collapse and extend Li-ion battery lifespan.
An international team of researchers has found a way to extend the lifespan of lithium-ion batteries by suppressing a damaging structural failure in nickel-rich cathodes known as c-collapse.The approach, aimed to stabilize high-energy, Ni-rich cathodes, was developed by scientists from the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, run by California’s Stanford University, and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology .
Lithium-ion batteries power smartphones, laptops, electric vehicles , and grid-scale storage systems. But repeated charging and discharging gradually wear them down. Internal stress caused when lithium ions move in and out of the cathode is a major reason for this.At high voltages, layered cathode materials can undergo sudden shrinkage along one crystallographic direction, known as the c-lattice parameter. This contraction, or c-collapse, can crack particles, disrupt ion pathways, and shorten battery life.Preventing c-collapseTo address the issue, the team rethought conventional battery design. Instead of preserving a perfectly ordered crystal structure, they used an electrochemical activation process to introduce controlled atomic disorder intentionally.“It has long been recognized that the anisotropic strain in the layered cathode is the original culprit that limits the lifetime of lithium-ion batteries,” Zhelong Jiang, co-first author of the paper, told Tech Xplore.By carefully tuning how nickel, manganese, and lithium atoms rearrange during early battery cycling, they transformed a traditionally layered nickel-rich cathode into a disordered layered structure.“We produced a new imperfect crystal structure, which we call disordered layered cathode , in these materials,” Jiang noted. He elaborated that the imperfect structure turned out to be a major advantage.“LiBs based on cathodes with this structure were found to exhibit both large capacity and high cycle life, due to the lack of anisotropic strain,” Jiang continued. The team demonstrated the approach using a high-energy nickel-rich material, LiNi₀.₉Mn₀.₁O₂, which is closely related to cathodes already used in commercial batteries. Protecting nickel cathodesThe electrochemical tuning did not reduce energy capacity. Instead, batteries built with the modified cathodes maintained high capacity. They also showed improved structural stability during repeated charge-discharge cycles.The team explained that the disordered layered structure remained dimensionally stable as lithium ions moved, thereby preventing the sharp lattice contraction that normally occurs at high states of charge.“The breakthrough introduced in our paper stemmed from our team’s cumulative knowledge with the study of the effects of anion redox in lithium-ion cathodes,” Jiang pointed out.Electrochemical activation disorders LNR-NM to DL-NM.Credit: Nature Energy . DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01910-wAccording to the team, the new approach reduced internal strain, limited particle cracking, and suppressed voltage loss. The electrochemical activation method could be applied during battery formation, making it compatible with large-scale manufacturing.“I think we have only touched the tip of the iceberg here, and I expect many new forms of materials with different modes of crystal imperfections will emerge following electrochemical treatment,” Jiang concluded. He said that the team hopes to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how chemical composition, structural change kinetics, and structural imperfections interact.The study has been published in the journal Nature Energy.
Crystal Durability Energy &Amp Environment Lithium Lithium Ion Batteries Nickel Cathodes Physics Storage Sustainability
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