New exploration of water-soluble lithium polyacrylate/xanthan gum composite binder for Li-rich Mn-based cathode materials

Li-rich Mn-based oxides are considered promising cathode materials of Li-ion batteries with high specific capacity and operating voltage. However, Li-rich materials suffer from a high initial irreversible capacity loss and severe voltage attenuation during cycling. In this work, lithium polyacrylate (LiPAA) was crosslinked with xanthan gum (XG) to form a water-soluble binder for Li[Li0.2Co0.13Ni0.13Mn0.54]O2 electrode. The capacity retention was 78.3 % after 100 cycles at 0.2 C. LiPAA provided additional Li+ ions during cycling, while XG firmly bound to the surface of the active particles. Cost-effective binders provide a facile mean to improve the electrochemical performance of Li-rich cathode materials.