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Lithium Iron Aluminum Nickelate, LiNi x Fe y Al z O 2 —New Sustainable Cathodes for Next‐Generation Cobalt‐Free Li‐Ion Batteries
Author(s) -
Muralidharan Nitin,
Essehli Rachid,
Hermann Raphael P.,
Amin Ruhul,
Jafta Charl,
Zhang Junjie,
Liu Jue,
Du Zhijia,
Meyer Harry M.,
Self Ethan,
Nanda Jagjit,
Belharouak Ilias
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.202002960
Subject(s) - materials science , cobalt , cathode , lithium (medication) , neutron diffraction , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , electrochemistry , analytical chemistry (journal) , crystallography , chemical engineering , crystal structure , chemistry , electrode , metallurgy , chromatography , engineering , endocrinology , medicine
In recent years, cobalt has become a critical constraint on the supply chain of the Li‐ion battery industry. With the ever‐increasing projections for electric vehicles, the dependency of current Li‐ion batteries on the ever‐fluctuating cobalt prices poses serious environmental and sustainability issues. To address these challenges, a new class of cobalt‐free materials with general formula of LiNi x Fe y Al z O 2 ( x + y + z = 1), termed as the lithium iron aluminum nickelate (NFA) class of cathodes, is introduced. These cobalt‐free materials are synthesized using the sol–gel process to explore their compositional landscape by varying aluminum and iron. These NFA variants are characterized using electron microscopy, neutron and X‐ray diffraction, and Mössbauer and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy to investigate their morphological, physical, and crystal‐structure properties. Operando experiments by X‐ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and galvanostatic intermittent titration have been also used to study the crystallographic transitions, electrochemical activity, and Li‐ion diffusivity upon lithium removal and uptake in the NFA cathodes. NFA compositions yield specific capacities of ≈200 mAh g −1 , demonstrating reasonable rate capability and cycling stability with ≈80% capacity retention after 100 charge/discharge cycles. While this is an early stage of research, the potential that these cathodes could have as viable candidates in next‐generation cobalt‐free lithium‐ion batteries is highlighted here.