Enhanced interfacial and structural stability of Ni-rich LiNi0.96Mg0.02Ti0.02O2 cathode using a CeO2-coating technique

With the rapid development of electric vehicles in recent years, high-energy layered lithium Ni-rich oxides have attracted much attention. However, the ever-increasing cobalt price and stability issues of Ni-rich cathodes pose substantial obstacles to the practical application of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Here, we employed a one-step method to synthesize a CeO2-coating LiNi0.96Mg0.02Ti0.02O2 (NMT@Ce) cathode with reliable interface and structure. The CeO2 coating layer can prevent cathodes from electrolyte assault and form oxygen vacancies to improve the material thermal stability. The as-obtained LiNi0.96Mg0.02Ti0.02O2-0.5 wt% Ce (NMT@Ce-0.5%) delivers a high specific capacity (177.8 mAh·g−1 at 1 C) and good durability (96.7% after 100 cycles at 1 C). This modification method significantly enhances the stability of the interface and structure for Ni-rich Co-free cathode material, accelerating the commercialization of high-energy–density LIBs.