Improving Irreversibility Capacity of Lithium-Rich Cathode Materials via Solid State Delithiation

Lithium Battery Power 2012
December 4-5 2012, Las Vegas, NV, USA
Advances in Lithium Ion Battery Technologies for Commercial & Military Applications
Improving Irreversibility Capacity of Lithium-Rich Cathode Materials via Solid State Delithiation
- By David Keogh, Wildcat Discovery TechnologyCathodes based on lithium rich-NMC are a promising technology for next generation lithium-ion batteries, offering energy density improvements of >50% over current state of the art intercalation materials.
At the same time, a number of technical challenges still limit the commercialization of these materials, including a large irreversible capacity of up to 20% typically observed on first cycle that results in significant gas evolution, as well as poor rate performance.
To address this, Wildcat Discovery Technologies has recently developed a low-cost solid state activation process that improves the electrochemical performance of Li-rich NMC materials.
In this process, activation is accomplished using a solid state reaction that selectively removes stoichiometric amounts of lithium and oxygen from the crystal structure.