Doped Nanoscale NMC333 as Cathode Materials for Li-Ion Batteries.

A series of Li(Ni1/3Mn1/3Co1/3)1-xMxO2 (M = Al, Mg, Zn, and Fe, x = 0.06) was prepared via sol-gel method assisted by ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid as a chelating agent. A typical hexagonal α-NaFeO2 structure (R-3m space group) was observed for parent and doped samples as revealed by X-ray diffraction patterns. For all samples, hexagonally shaped nanoparticles were observed by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The local structure was characterized by infrared, Raman, and Mössbauer spectroscopy and 7Li nuclear magnetic resonance (Li-NMR). Cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge tests showed that Mg and Al doping improved the electrochemical performance of LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 in terms of specific capacities and cyclability. In addition, while Al doping increases the initial capacity, Mg doping is the best choice as it improves cyclability for reasons discussed in this work.

Elucidation of the Conversion Reaction of CoMnFeO4 Nanoparticles in Lithium Ion Battery Anode via Operando Studies.

Conversion reactions deliver much higher capacities than intercalation/deintercalation reactions of commercial Li ion batteries. However, the complex reaction pathways of conversion reactions occurring during Li uptake and release are not entirely understood, especially the irreversible capacity loss of Mn(III)-containing oxidic spinels. Here, we report for the first time on the electrochemical Li uptake and release of Co(II)Mn(III)Fe(III)O4 spinel nanoparticles and the conversion reaction mechanisms elucidated by combined operando X-ray diffraction, operando and ex-situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, (7)Li NMR, and molecular dynamics simulation. The combination of these techniques enabled uncovering the pronounced electronic changes and structural alterations on different length scales in a unique way. The spinel nanoparticles undergo a successive phase transition into a mixed monoxide caused by a movement of the reduced cations from tetrahedral to octahedral positions. While the redox reactions Fe(3+) ↔ Fe(0) and Co(2+) ↔ Co(0) occur for many charge/discharge cycles, metallic Mn nanoparticles formed during the first discharge can only be oxidized to Mn(2+) during charge. This finding explains the partial capacity loss reported for Mn(III)-based spinels. Furthermore, the results of the investigations evidence that the reaction mechanisms on the nanoscale are very different from pathways of microcrystalline materials.

Study of local structure and Li dynamics in Li(4+x)Ti(5)O(12) (0 ≤ x ≤ 5) using (6)Li and (7)Li NMR spectroscopy.

We studied the local structure and the Li ion dynamics in electrochemically and chemically prepared Li(4+x)Ti(5)O(12) with x = 0…5. We used magic-angle spinning (7)Li NMR on samples with different Li contents to investigate the sites that are occupied/emptied during Li insertion/removal. While the electrochemical measurements show a lithium insertion in two steps, 1D MAS NMR as a function of the lithium content shows that the overall spectral evolution observed during lithium insertion is inverted during lithium removal. Thereby the second insertion step is associated with an increased structural disorder. For samples with x = 0, 2, 3, and about 5, we performed temperature-dependent measurements of the (7)Li NMR relaxation rates T(1)(-1), T(2)(-1), and T(1ρ)(-1) to study the dynamics of the Li ions. For the samples with x = 0, 2, and 3, activation energies of (0.45 ± 0.1)eV were obtained. The highest mobility of the Li ions is observed for the samples with x = 2 and 3. Results from (6)Li and (7)Li 2D exchange MAS NMR spectroscopy on samples with x = 2 and 4 show that magnetization transfer for (7)Li below 323K is dominated by spin diffusion.

Electrochemical insertion of lithium in mechanochemically synthesized Zn2SnO4.

We studied the electrochemical insertion of Li in mechanochemically prepared Zn(2)SnO(4). The mechanism of the electrochemical reaction was investigated by using X-ray diffraction, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Changes in the morphology of the Zn(2)SnO(4) particles were studied by in situ scanning electron microscopy. The results were compared with mixtures of SnO(2) + ZnO and with Zn(2)SnO(4) prepared by conventional solid-state synthesis and showed that the mechanochemically prepared Zn(2)SnO(4) exhibits the best cyclic stability of these samples.