• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.117-124
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• 2011

We demonstrate a new surface modification of high-voltage lithium cobalt oxide ($LiCoO_2$) cathode active materials for lithium-ion batteries. This approach is based on exploitation of a polarity-tuned gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) coating. Herein, two contrast polymers having different polarity are chosen: polyimide (PI) synthesized from thermally curing 4-component (pyromellitic dianhydride/biphenyl dianhydride/phenylenediamine/oxydianiline) polyamic acid (as a polar GPE) and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) containing 12 wt% vinyl acetate repeating unit (as a less polar GPE). The strong affinity of polyamic acid for $LiCoO_2$ allows the resulting PI coating layer to present a highly-continuous surface film of nanometer thickness. On the other hand, the less polar EVA coating layer is poorly deposited onto the $LiCoO_2$, resulting in a locally agglomerated morphology with relatively high thickness. Based on the characterization of GPE coating layers, their structural difference on the electrochemical performance and thermal stability of high-voltage (herein, 4.4 V) $LiCoO_2$ is thoroughly investigated. In comparison to the EVA coating layer, the PI coating layer is effective in preventing the direct exposure of $LiCoO_2$ to liquid electrolyte, which thus plays a viable role in improving the high-voltage cell performance and mitigating the interfacial exothermic reaction between the charged $LiCoO_2$ and liquid electrolytes.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.352-360
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• 2020

Lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO₂, LCO) has been widely used as a cathode material for Li-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to its excellent electrochemical performance and highly reproducible synthesis even with mass production. To improve the energy density of the LIBs for their deployment in electro-mobility, the full capacity and voltage of the cathode materials need to exploited, especially by operating them at a higher voltage. Herein, we doped LCO with divalent calcium-ion (Ca²⁺) to stabilize its layered structure during the batteries' operation. The Ca-doped LCO was synthesized by two different routes, namely solid-state and co-precipitation methods, which led to different average particle sizes and levels of dopant's homogeneity. Of these two, the solid-state synthesis resulted in smaller particles with a better homogeneity of the dopant, which led to better electrochemical performance, specifically when operated at a high voltage of 4.5 V. Electrochemical simulations based on a single particle model provided theoretical corroboration for the positive effects of the reduced particle size on the higher rate capability.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2016

Capacity of layered lithium nickel-cobalt-manganese oxide ($LiNi_{1-x-y}Co_xMn_yO_2$) cathode material can increase by raising the charge cut-off voltage above 4.3 V vs. $Li/Li^+$, but it is limited due to anodic instability of conventional electrolyte. We have been screening and evaluating various sulfone-based compounds of dimethyl sulfone (DMS), diethyl sulfone (DES), ethyl methyl sulfone (EMS) as electrolyte additives for high-voltage applications. Here we report improved cycling performance of $LiNi_{0.5}Co_{0.2}Mn_{0.3}O_2$ cathode by the use of dimethyl sulfone (DMS) additive under an aggressive charge condition of 4.6 V, compared to that in conventional electrolyte, and cathode-electrolyte interfacial reaction behavior. The cathode with DMS delivered discharge capacities of $198-173mAhg^{-1}$ over 50 cycles and capacity retention of 84%. Surface analysis results indicate that DMS induces to form a surface protective film at the cathode and inhibit metal-dissolution, which is correlated to improved high-voltage cycling performance.

• KEPCO Journal on Electric Power and Energy
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.461-466
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• 2020

There are many application fields of electrical energy storage such as load shifting, integration with renewables, frequency or voltage supports, and so on. Especially, the frequency regulation is needed to stabilize the electric power system, and there have to be more than 1 GW as power reserve in Korea. Ni-rich layered oxide cathode materials have been investigated as a cathode material for Li-ion batteries because of their higher discharge capacity and lower cost than lithium cobalt oxide. Nonetheless, most of them have been investigated using small coin cells, and therefore, there is a limit to understand the deterioration mode of Ni-rich layered oxides in commercial high energy Li-ion batteries. In this paper, the pouch-type 20 Ah-scale Li-ion full cells are fabricated using Ni-rich layered oxides as a cathode and graphite as an anode. Above all, two test conditions for the application of frequency regulation were established in order to examine the performances of cells. Then, the electrochemical performances of two types of Ni-rich layered oxides are compared, and the long-term performance and degradation mode of the cell using cathode material with high nickel contents among them were investigated in the frequency regulation conditions.