Synthesis of Li-Rich Cathode Material with High C-Rate Performance by Reductive Treatment

Abstract

Li-rich cathode materials have intrinsically poor rate capability along with low electronic conductivity, which remain as unsolved drawbacks limiting their use in applications that require cathode material with layered structures. Here, we prepared surface-modified Li-rich cathode materials to address these drawbacks via reductive treatment. After reductive treatment, we confirmed that these samples feature better electrochemical performance; the reductive treated samples show higher capacity and better capacity retention during cycling compared to samples treated only in air. In particular, the reductive treated samples showed excellent rate capability of 168 mAh g(-1) at a current density of 400 mA g(-1) compared to 138 mAh g(-1) for the air treated sample. We confirmed that reductive treatment reduces the resistance for charge transfer based on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis. We also investigated the effects of reductive treatment on the cathode structure of both samples using x-ray diffraction as well as x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.