Stabilization of high-voltage layered oxide cathode by utilizing residual lithium to form NASICON-type nanoscale functional coating

High-voltage medium-nickel low-cobalt lithium layered oxide cathode materials are becoming a popular development route for high-energy lithium-ion batteries due to their relatively high capacity,low cost,and improved safety.Unfortunately,capacity fading derived from surface lithium residue,electrode-electrolyte interfacial side reactions,and bulk structure degradation severely limits large-scale commercial utilization.In this work,an ultrathin and uniform NASICON-type Li_(3)V_(2)(PO_(4))_(3)(LVP)nanoscale functional coating is formed in situ by utilizing residual lithium to enhance the lithium storage performance of LiNi_(0.6)Co0.05Mn_(0.35)O_(2)(NCM)cathode.The GITT and ex-situ EIS and XPS demonstrate exceptional Li+diffusion and conductivity and attenuated interfacial side reactions,improving the electrode-electrolyte interface stability.The variable temperature in-situ XRD demonstrates delayed phase transition temperature to improve thermal stability.The battery in-situ XRD displays the singlephase H1-H2 reaction and weakened harmful H3 phase transition,minimizing the bulk mechanical degradation.These improvements are attributed to the removal of surface residual lithium and the formation of NASICON-type Li_(3)V_(2)(PO_(4))_(3)functional coatings with stable structure and high ionic and electronic conductivity.Consequently,the obtained NCM@LVP delivers a higher capacity retention rate(97.1%vs.79.6%)after 150 cycles and a superior rate capacity(87 mAh·g^(-1)vs.58 mAh·g^(-1))at a 5 C current density than the pristine NCM under a high cut-off voltage of 4.5 V.This work suggests a clever way to utilize residual lithium to form functional coatings in situ to improve the lithium storage performance of high-voltage medium-nickel low-cobalt cathode materials.