Free Energies for Acid Attack Reactions of Lithium Cobaltate

The attack of lithium-ion battery cathodes by stray aqueous HF, with resultant dissolution, protonation, and possibly other unintended reactions, can be a significant source of capacity fade. We explore the calculation of reaction free energies of lithium cobaltate in acid by a “hybrid” method, in which solid-phase free energies are calculated from first principles at the generalized gradient approximation + intrasite coulomb interaction (GGA+U) level and tabulated values of ionization potentials and hydration energies are employed for the aqueous species. Analysis of the dissolution of the binary oxides Li2O and CoO suggests that the atomic energies for Co and Li should be shifted from values calculated by first principles to yield accurate reaction free energies within the hybrid method. With the shifted atomic energies, the hybrid method was applied to analyze proton-promoted dissolution and protonation reactions of LiCoO2 in aqueous acid. Reaction free energies for the dissolution reaction, the reaction to form Co3O4 spinel, and the proton-for-lithium exchange reaction are obtained and compared to empirical values. An extension of the present treatment to consider partial reactions is proposed, with a view to investigating interfacial and environmental effects on the dissolution reaction.