Suppress oxygen evolution of lithium-rich manganese-based cathode materials via an integrated strategy

Improving the reversibility of anionic redox and inhibiting irreversible oxygen evolution are the main challenges in the application of high reversible capacity Li-rich Mn-based cathode materials. A facile synchronous lithiation strategy combining the advantages of yttrium doping and LiYO2 surface coating is proposed. Yttrium doping effectively suppresses the oxygen evolution during the delithiation process by increasing the energy barrier of oxygen evolution reaction through strong Y–O bond energy. LiYO2 nanocoating has the function of structural constraint and protection, that protecting the lattice oxygen exposed to the surface, thus avoiding irreversible oxidation. As an Li+ conductor, LiYO2 nanocoating can provide a fast Li + transfer channel, which enables the sample to have excellent rate performance. The synergistic effect of Y doping and nano-LiYO2 coating integration suppresses the oxygen release from the surface, accelerates the diffusion of Li+ from electrolyte to electrode and decreases the interfacial side reactions, enabling the lithium ion batteries to obtain good electrochemical performance. The lithium-ion full cell employing the Y-1 sample (cathode) and commercial graphite (anode) exhibit an excellent specific energy density of 442.9 Wh kg−1 at a current density of 0.1C, with very stable safety performance, which can be used in a wide temperature range (60 to −15 °C) stable operation. This result illustrates a new integration strategy for advanced cathode materials to achieve high specific energy density.