Lithium-Ion Conductor Li2ZrO3-Coated Primary Particles To Optimize the Performance of Li-Rich Mn-Based Cathode Materials

A lithium-rich manganese-based cathode material (LRMC) is currently considered as one of the most promising next-generation materials for lithium-ion batteries, which has received much attention, but the LRMC still faces some key scientific issues to break through, such as poor rate capacity, rapid voltage, capacity decay, and low first coulomb efficiency. In this work, homogeneous Li₂ZrO₃ (LZO) was successfully coated on the surface of Li_1.2Mn_0.54Ni_0.13Co_0.13O₂ (LRO) by molten salt-assisted sintering technology. Li₂ZrO₃ has good chemical and electrochemical stability, which can effectively inhibit the side reaction between electrode materials and electrolytes and reduce the dissolution of transition metal ions. Thus, the as-prepared LRO@LZO composites are expected to improve the cycling performance. It can be found that the discharge specific capacity of LRO is 271 mAh g^-1 at 0.1 C, and the capacity retention rate is still 93.7% after 100 cycles at 1 C. In addition, Li₂ZrO₃ is an excellent lithium-ion conductor, which is prone to increasing the lithium-ion transfer rate and improving the rate capacity of LRO. Therefore, this study provides a new solution to improve the structure stability and electrochemical performance of LRMCs.