Improvement in the electrochemical performance of LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathode material by Li2ZrO3 coating

Abstract Li 2 ZrO 3 with three dimensional tunnels for Li + diffusion is introduced to improve the electrochemical performance of LiNi 0.8 Co 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 2 . The coating process is carried on the precursor rather than on the product. The Li 2 ZrO 3 coating layer with thickness of 10 nm has been detected by morphological observation. Electrochemical tests indicate that the Li 2 ZrO 3 -coating samples display better electrochemical performance than the bare sample. Especially, the 2% Li 2 ZrO 3 coated sample delivers desirable capacity retention of 94.5% after 200 cycles at 1C, which is superior to the bare one (82.5%). Furthermore, the 1% Li 2 ZrO 3 coated sample exhibits superior specific capacity of 144.3 mAh g −1 at 10C, much greater than the bare sample (107.4 mAh g −1 ). The cyclic voltammograms and electrochemical impedance spectra tests demonstrate that the Li 2 ZrO 3 -coated layer can cut down the electrochemical polarization of the materials and decrease the charge-transfer resistance in the cycling process. The XRD patterns and SEM images of the electrodes before and after 200 cycles reveal the Li 2 ZrO 3 -coated samples have more stable structure during cycling.