Development of P2 or P2/P3 cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries by controlling the Ni and Mn contents in Na0.7CoxMnyNizO2 layered oxide

Layered oxide cathode materials with the general formula NaxTMO2 (TM = transition metals) have shown promises as electrode materials for future large-scale sodium-ion batteries. However, several challenges including capacity degradation at high voltage, phase transitions as well as structural sensitivity to minor changes in the sodium and transition metal contents during the synthesis process have hampered their development. Herein, we report a systematic investigation of the impact of replacing cobalt by either manganese or nickel on the structural and electrochemical properties of Na0.7CoxMnyNizO2 (x + y + z = 1) layered oxide materials using a variety of analysis and electrochemical techniques. Mixed phases of P2 and P3 cathode materials are obtained through a slight increase of the nickel content, while increasing the manganese content showed little effect on the P2-type structure. Increasing manganese content is shown to lead to lower discharge capacity but excellent capacity retention after 100 cycles, while nickel-rich electrodes exhibit higher discharge capacity approaching 120 mAh/g but poor rate capability performance.