Preparation and Rate Capability of Carbon Coated ... - ACS Publications

Feb 21, 2017 - All the reagents used were obtained from Sino pharm Group Company. 2.2Materials Characterization. The crystal structures of NCM and ...
0 downloads 0 Views 3MB Size
Subscriber access provided by UB + Fachbibliothek Chemie | (FU-Bibliothekssystem)

Article

Preparation and rate capability of carbon coated LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 as cathode material in lithium ion batteries Chaofan Yang, Xiaosong Zhang, Mengyi Huang, Junjie Huang, and Zebo Fang ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, Just Accepted Manuscript • DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b16741 • Publication Date (Web): 21 Feb 2017 Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on February 26, 2017

Just Accepted “Just Accepted” manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication. They are posted online prior to technical editing, formatting for publication and author proofing. The American Chemical Society provides “Just Accepted” as a free service to the research community to expedite the dissemination of scientific material as soon as possible after acceptance. “Just Accepted” manuscripts appear in full in PDF format accompanied by an HTML abstract. “Just Accepted” manuscripts have been fully peer reviewed, but should not be considered the official version of record. They are accessible to all readers and citable by the Digital Object Identifier (DOI®). “Just Accepted” is an optional service offered to authors. Therefore, the “Just Accepted” Web site may not include all articles that will be published in the journal. After a manuscript is technically edited and formatted, it will be removed from the “Just Accepted” Web site and published as an ASAP article. Note that technical editing may introduce minor changes to the manuscript text and/or graphics which could affect content, and all legal disclaimers and ethical guidelines that apply to the journal pertain. ACS cannot be held responsible for errors or consequences arising from the use of information contained in these “Just Accepted” manuscripts.

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces is published by the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street N.W., Washington, DC 20036 Published by American Chemical Society. Copyright © American Chemical Society. However, no copyright claim is made to original U.S. Government works, or works produced by employees of any Commonwealth realm Crown government in the course of their duties.

Page 1 of 27

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

Preparation and rate capability of carbon coated LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 as cathode material in lithium ion batteries Chaofan Yanga, Xiaosong Zhanga, Mengyi Huanga, Junjie Huang*a, Zebo Fangc a: College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing 312000, PR China c: Mathematic Information College, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing 312000, PR China ∗Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 575 88342606; fax: +86 575 88342606. E-mail address: [email protected] (J. Huang). Keywords: LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2, active carbon, coating, cathode, lithium ion battery. Abstract LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 (NCM) is regarded as a promising material for next-generation lithium ion batteries due to the high capacity, but its practical applications are limited by the poor electronic conductivity. Here, a one-step method is used to prepare carbon coated LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 (NCM/C) by applying active carbon as reaction matrix. TEM shows

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

1

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

Page 2 of 27

LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 particles are homogeneously coated by carbon with a thickness about 10 nm. NCM/C delivers the discharge capacity of 191.2 mAh g-1 at 0.5 C (85 mA g-1) with a columbic efficiency of 91.1%. At 40 C (6800 mA g-1), the discharge capacity of NCM/C is 54.6 mAh g-1, while NCM prepared through sol-gel route only delivers 13.2 mAh g-1. After 100 charge and discharge cycles at 1 C (170 mA g-1) the capacity retention is 90.3% for NCM/C, while it is only 72.4% for NCM. The superior charge/discharge performance of NCM/C owes much to the carbon coating layer, which is not only helpful to increase the electronic conductivity, but also contributive to inhibit the side reactions between LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 and the liquid electrolyte. 1. Introduction The rapid development of electric vehicles and renewable energy storage brings a growing demand for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) with high power performance and high energy density 12

. To meet the high requirements, electrode materials with high capacities are needed. Among the

cathode materials 3-5, LiNi(1-x-y)CoxMnyO2 have been regarded as the promising cathode materials used in the next-generation LIBs due to their high specific capacities

6-9

. In LiNi(1-x-y)CoxMnyO2

group, LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 (NCM) has been hotly studied due to the superior charge/discharge properties. It is known that NCM is almost zero volume or phase change when cycled among 2.50-4.40 V because Mn4+ does not conduct the redox reaction, which helps to stabilize the crystal structure

10-14

. However, the electronic conductivity of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 is poor

15

,

which results in a bad rate capability, limiting its practical applications. With the aim to increase the electronic conductivity of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2, the attempts of the addition of dopants

16-18

and surface decoration by coating with various materials like metal

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

2

Page 3 of 27

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

oxides (Al2O3

19-20

, Cr2O3

21

, Nb2O5

22

, ZrO2

23

), and metal phosphate (AlPO4

24

) have been

directed. Carbon is excellent in electronic conductivity, which is routinely used to coat electrode materials like Li4Ti5O12 25, LiFePO4 26-27 and silicon 28. It is proved that the carbon coating layer with an appropriate thickness is very useful in increasing the conductivity and inhibiting the particles from reacting with the electrolyte, resulting in a great enhancement in electrochemical performance, especially for high-rate capability 25-28. Normally, NCM is synthesized under air or oxygen atmosphere at high temperature (> 800 ºC). At such high calcination temperature, organic compound is likely to oxidize to CO in air/oxygen atmosphere during the synthesizing period, so it is not easy to form carbon on NCM surface. With the aim to coat carbon on NCM surface, a two-step method has been designed by using chemical vapor deposition (VCD) pyrolysis of adsorbed organic compounds

30

29

or

, in which the first step involves the synthesis of

NCM, the second step is to coat carbon on the particles at the high temperature. For simplifying the process, N. Sinha designed a one-step method to synthesize NCM/C by an inverse microemulsion route

31

, but the complex procedure makes this method difficult to prepare carbon-

coated NCM in large scale. In the present study, a facile way is introduced to prepare carbon-coated LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 (NCM/C) by using porous active carbon as reaction matrix. In this method active carbon is used as absorbent to absorb the solution containing the ions of Li+ and [M(NH3)x]2+ (M: Co, Ni and Mn), so the pores in active carbon are helpful to control the sizes of NCM particles, making them in nano scale. Finally, part of carbon possibly leaves on NCM particles’ surfaces to form a uniform coating layer. NCM/C presents an excellent high-rate capability; at 40 C it can deliver a discharge capacity of 54.6 mAh g-1 while that of NCM is only

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

3

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

Page 4 of 27

13.2 mAh g-1. Here, the fabrication and electrochemical behavior of NCM/C are detailly discussed. 2. Experimental 2.1 Materials synthesis Preparation of NCM/C: The compounds of LiAc·2H2O, Ni(Ac)2·2H2O, Co(Ac)2·2H2O and Mn(Ac)2·2H2O with stoichiometric amounts were dissolved in concentrated ammonium hydroxide, while the ions were in the form of [M(NH3)x]2+ (M=Ni, Co and Mn). Then the active carbon was used to absorb the obtained solution, as the way we used in our previous work

32

.

Here, the weight ratio of active carbon and the calculated amounts of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 is 2:1. After then, the precursor was sintered to 450 ºC for 2 hours with a ramp of 5 ºC min-1, and 850 ºC for another 10 hours in air. Finally, NCM/C was obtained. NCM synthesized through a sol-gel route was used as a reference. The compounds of LiAc·2H2O, Ni(Ac)2·2H2O, Co(Ac)2·2H2O and Mn(Ac)2·2H2O with stoichiometric amounts were dissolved in the distilled water, forming a solution. The mixed solution of citric acid and ethylene glycol was dropped in with the rate of 1 d s-1, and the pH value was kept at ~7.0 by NH3 H2O solution. After stirring at 80 ºC for 10 hours by water bath, the sol was dried and turned into viscous transparent gel. The gel was heat-treated at 450 ºC for 2 hours and 850 ºC for 10 hours in air. Finally, NCM was obtained. All the reagents used were obtained from Sino pharm Group Company. 2.2 Materials characterization

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

4

Page 5 of 27

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

The crystal structures of NCM and NCM/C were characterized by using X-ray diffract meter (Bruker D8, Cu Kα) in the 2θ range of 10º-80º. The data was recorded at a step width of 0.026º and a scan rate of 0.58º min-1. The morphologies were analyzed by TEM (transmission electron microscopy) (JEOL JEM-1011) and the elemental distributions were characterized by EDS (energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry) (JEOL JSM-6360LV). The contents of Li, Ni, Co and Mn were also tested with inductively coupled plasma-atomic (ICP) equipment (Prodigy xp, American Leeman Company). The content of Carbon was analyzed with EA (element analysis equipment) (EA3000, Italy Euro Vector Company). Electrochemical performances were measured by using a coin-cell, which is composed of a metallic lithium anode and a cathode separated by a polyethylene film. The cathode was fabricated by mixing the active material with PTFE and conductive carbon in a weight ratio of 80:5:15. The mixture was pressed onto aluminum foil (20 µm in thickness). Finally, the electrode was dried under vacuum at 100 ºC for 10 hours. The electrode has the area of about 1 cm2 with the active material loading of about 5 mg. The coin-cell was assembled in the glove box filled with argon, and the electrolyte solution is 1 M LiPF6-EC/DMC (1:1, v/v) (BASF, America). The charge and discharge performance was carried out galvanostatically at different current densities on electrochemical equipment (Wuhan Land electro-chemical equipment company, China, Land 2001A), and the cut-off voltages are 4.50 and 2.50 V respectively. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was conducted on the electrochemical equipment (Germany, Zahner Ennium). All the tests were conducted under 30 ºC. 3. Results and Discussions

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

5

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

Page 6 of 27

Fig. 1a presents the XRD spectra of NCM and NCM/C, and the crystal parameters are listed in Table 1. All the peaks in NCM and NCM/C can be indexed to α-NaFeO2 structure 33-35, and no impurity phases can be found in XRD spectra. The well resolved planes of 006/102 and 018/110 indicate NCM and NCM/C possess a typical hexagonal layered structure (R=(I(006)+I(012))/I(101) is inversely proportional to the hexagonal ordering

11

36-37

. R-factor

, the calculated

values of NCM and NCM/C are 0.48 and 0.46 respectively, which infers NCM/C has a higher hexagonal ordering. From Table 1, the ratio of c/a is 4.9771 for NCM and 4.9777 for NCM/C, which means the well-defined layered structure for both NCM and NCM/C 33,38. The crystal structure of NCM/C and NCM are analyzed by Rietveld refinements, and the curves and lattice parameters are presented in Fig 1b-d and Table 1, respectively. The lattice parameter a corresponds to the average intra-slab distance of metal-metal (M-M), while c is associated with the average M-M inter-slab distance. Since the radius of Li+ is bigger than that of Ni2+, Li+ ions on 3a sites lead to the increase of the planar parameter a

39

. From Table 1,

parameter a for NCM and NCM/C are 2.8653±0.00004 Å and 2.8635±0.00009 Å respectively, indicating NCM/C with a lower Li+/Ni2+ mixing. Furthermore, the ratio of I(003) and I(104) peaks is also applied to judge the cation mixing degree in LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 40-41, and the value of 1.2 is supposed to be the boundary of cation disordering, and the higher value means better ordering for the cations. The I(003)/I(104) ratios of NCM and NCM/C are 1.4822 and 1.6838 respectively, which also means the better cation ordering of NCM/C. The refined values of Ni in Li site of NCM and NCM/C are 0.0306 and 0.0284 respectively, indicating the better Ni/Li ordering in NCM/C. The cation mixing greatly influences to the electrochemical performance, especially for the capacity and cycling stability, therefore the lower cation mixing in NCM/C infers a better electrochemical performance 11,42.

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

6

Page 7 of 27

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

Table 1 Refined Lattice parameters of NCM and NCM/C c(Å)

c/a

I(003)/I(104)

Ni in Li site

Rp(%)

Rwp(%)

14.2608 2.8653

4.9771

1.4822

0.0306

3.02

5.68

NCM/C 14.2542 2.8635

4.9777

1.6838

0.0284

2.46

5.72

NCM

a(Å)

Fig. 1 XRD spectra of NCM and NCM/C (a); Rievelt refinement XRD spectra of NCM and NCM/C (b-c); the schematic micro-structure of NCM/C (d). Fig. 2 shows the SEM and TEM images of NCM and NCM/C. As shown in the SEM images, NCM and NCM/C display the similar morphology with irregular particle shape, and their particle sizes are very small. From TEM images, almost every particle in NCM can be

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

7

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

Page 8 of 27

identified clearly, and the particle sizes range from 50 nm to 200 nm. Different from that, it looks like the particles aggregating together in NCM/C, which is because they are packaged by a layer of carbon as proved by EDS spectra in Fig. 4. The outline of the particles in NCM/C can be distinguished; the distribution of the particle’s size is homogeneous with the diameter of about 150 nm. We speculate the formation of NCM/C should be related to the active carbon, the synthesis process is illustrated in Fig. 3. It is well known that many pores exist in active carbon, these pores are able to absorb the solution containing the ions of Li+ and [M(NH3)x]2+ and these positive ions can interact with the organic groups of -OH and -COO- on carbon by electrostatic interaction. When the solvent evaporated, the compounds related to Li+, Ni2+, Co2+ and Mn2+ deposited on the pores’ walls. Active carbon can be stable even at the temperature above 500 oC, in such state the compounds related to Li+, Ni2+, Co2+ and Mn2+ are changed to metal oxides, leading to inorganic oxides coated carbon composite. Finally, a part of carbon left in LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 after calcination step, resulting in carbon coated LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 material. Of course, the calcination temperature and annealing time are two important factors for the formation of carbon layer. For example, when the calcination time extends much longer, carbon will react with oxygen in air and disappear 43. The influence of calcination temperature on carbon forming was also conducted, and the obtained samples were observed by TEM as shown in Figure S.1. TEM images show the average thickness of carbon layer become thinner from 16 nm to 10 nm as the calcination temperature increasing from 800 oC to 850 oC, moreover, when increasing the temperature to 900 oC, the carbon coating layer disappeared. It is well known that the calcination temperature greatly influenced the crystallinity of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2, commonly

the

higher

calcination

temperature

implies

the

better

crystallinity

of

LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2. Based on the crystallinity of NCM and the carbon forming information, we

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

8

Page 9 of 27

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

selected NCM/C calcinated at 850 oC to study the improved charge and discharge performance in this study.

Fig. 2 SEM images of NCM (a) and NCM/C (b); TEM images of NCM (c) and NCM/C (d)

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

9

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

Page 10 of 27

Fig. 3 Schematic illustration of the synthesis process of NCM/C Fig. 4 shows the EDS spectra and mapping of NCM and NCM/C. It can be found the elements of Co, Mn and Ni are homogenously distributed in NCM and NCM/C. Carbon is only detected in NCM/C while not in NCM, which is mainly caused by the different thermal behaviors of ethylene glycol, citric acid and active carbon. In air atmosphere, when the temperature is higher than 200 oC ethylene glycol will evaporate and citric acid will be decomposed, but active carbon can keep stable even at the temperature higher than 500 oC. From the EDS mapping of NCM/C in Fig. 4, only carbon is detected in the coating layer. Table 2 shows the atomic ratio of Co, Mn, Ni and Li analyzed by ICP-AES, the atomic ratio in the two samples are all equivalent to the expected values. The carbon content in NCM/C is about 4.10% (wt%).

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

10

Page 11 of 27

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

Fig. 4 EDS spectra and mapping of NCM and NCM/C Table 2 Stoichiometric molar composition of NCM and NCM/C measured by ICP-AES Expected Li/ Co / Ni /Mn Coefficient

Measured Li/ Co / Ni /Mn Coefficient

NCM

1.0/0.33/0.33/0.33

1.01/0.32/0.35/0.32

NCM/C

1.0/0.33/0.33/0.33

1.03/0.33/0.32/0.34

Fig. 5 displays the initial charge/discharge performances of NCM and NCM/C recorded at 0.5 C (85 mA g-1). The curves correspond to the typical charge/discharge behavior of layered LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2, the charge capacity about 80 mAh g-1 in 3.75-3.90 V relates to the redox couple of Ni2+/Ni3+; the subsequent voltage ranges of 3.90-4.10 V and 4.10-4.50 V correspond to the redox couples of Ni3+/Ni4+ and Co3+/Co4+ respectively, which is agreeable with the previous

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

11

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

Page 12 of 27

reports by K.M. Shaju 44 and T. Ohzuku 13. The initial charge capacities of NCM and NCM/C are 213.6 and 209.9 mAh g-1 at 0.5 C respectively, and the initial discharge capacities of NCM and NCM/C are 175.7 and 191.2 mAh g-1. The higher specific capacity of NCM/C is attributed to the lower cation mixing and the improved electronic conductivity by carbon coating. The initial columbic efficiency of NCM is 82.3% while 91.1% for NCM/C as listed in Table 3. The initial capacity loss was caused by SEI forming and electrolyte decomposing. The higher initial columbic efficiency of NCM/C is due to the carbon coating, which inhibits the side reactions between LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 and liquid electrolyte, leading to a reduction in the irreversible charge capacity. The capacity of NCM/C is higher than that of carbon coated LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 prepared by the two-step method in literatures 45-47, which is possibly due to carbon coating was fabricated in the process of NCM fabrication, leading to the better contacting between carbon and NCM, therefore the electronic conductivity was improved greatly.

Fig. 5 Initial charge/discharge performances of NCM and NCM/C, current density: 85 mA g-1 Table 3 Initial charge and discharge capacities and columbic efficiencies of NCM and NCM/C Initial charge capacity (mAh g-1)

Initial discharge capacity (mAh g-1)

Columbic Efficiency (%)

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

12

Page 13 of 27

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

NCM

213.6

175.7

82.3

NCM/C

209.9

191.2

91.1

Fig. 6 shows the rate performance of NCM and NCM/C conducted from 0.5 C (85 mA g-1) to 40 C (6800 mA g-1). As increasing the charge and discharge rates, the specific capacities decrease regularly. At 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 40 C, the discharge capacities of NCM are 175.7, 154.8, 143.5, 101.7, 71.5, 44.5 and 13.2 mAh g-1 respectively, but that of NCM/C are 191.2, 178.9, 163.5, 135.8, 109.4, 81.9 and 54.6 mAh g-1 respectively. NCM/C exhibits better rate performance than NCM, which is mainly due to the coating carbon with excellent electronic conductivity, resulting in lower electrochemical impedance. The electrochemical impedance of NCM and NCM/C was analyzed by EIS, which was conducted after the 1st cycle (0.5 C) at 30 ºC.

Fig. 6 Rate capabilities of NCM and NCM/C from 0.5 C to 40 C (2.50-4.50 V). The Nyquist plots are fitted and presented in Fig. 7a, in the medium frequency region a semicircle can be found, which is related to the charge-transfer resistance of the electrode. A line at low frequency region with about 45o to the real axis is assigned to the Li+ diffusion within the

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

13

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

electrode

32

Page 14 of 27

. In the equivalent circuits inserted in Fig. 7c, Re represents the uncompensated

ohmic resistance, which includes the ohmic resistance in NCM or NCM/C materials and the tab of cathode/anode. Rs1 represents the diffusion resistance of Li+ in the surface layer (including SEI film). Rs2 represents the resistance of Li+ diffusion in carbon coating layer, Rct refers to the charge-transfer resistance. CPEs1 and CPEs2 refer to the nonideal capacitance of the carbon coating layer and the surface layer, and CPEct is assigned to charge transfer capacitance, Zw refers to the Warburg impedance, which represents the diffusion behavior of Li+ in the bulk

48

.

The relationship of Z’ (the real part impedance) and ω-1/2 (ω: the angular frequency, ω=2πf) in the low frequency region are also displayed in Fig. 7b. The Warburg impedance coefficients (σ) and DLi+ (lithium diffusion coefficients) were evaluated according to Eq.1 and Eq.2

32, 48

. The

simulated values after the 1st cycle are shown in Table 4; the resistances of NCM/C are lower than that of NCM, implying a better high-rate performance in NCM/C than NCM. Moreover, the lower value of Rs1 for NCM/C (65.728 Ω) indicates a smaller electrochemical impedance in SEI of NCM/C, which is similar to the reported results of graphite after carbon coating

49-50

. The

lithium diffusion coefficients (DLi+) are 1.232×10-14 cm2 s-1 for NCM and 1.513×10-14 cm2 s-1 for NCM/C. NCM/C also has a better high-rate performance compared to the literature results as listed in Table 5, which is due to the coated carbon with excellent electron conductivity. Z′ = Rs + Rct + σ߱ ିଵ/ଶ ୖ మ ୘మ

‫ܦ‬௅௜ = ଶ୅మ ୬ర ୊ర େమ σమ

Eq. 1 Eq. 2

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

14

Page 15 of 27

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

Fig. 7 Fitted Nyquist plots (a), relationships between Z’ and ω-1/2 at low frequency region (b) and corresponding equivalent circuits (c) of NCM and NCM/C Table 4 EIS parameters of NCM and NCM/C after the first cycle Re(Ω)

Rs1(Ω)

Rs2(Ω)

Rct(Ω)

σ(Ω cm2) DLi+(cm2 s-1)

NCM

11.213

98.436

/

100.602

450.415

1.232×10-14

NCM/C

9.686

65.728

6.621

73.124

406.543

1.513×10-14

Table 5 Rate capability of the reported LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 by surface modification

Coating layer

Carbon (this study) Cr2O3 21

Discharge Capacity

Discharge Capacity

(mAh g-1) at 0.5 C

(mAh g-1) at high rate

2.5-4.5

191.2

54.6 (40 C)

2.8-4.5

196 (0.1 C)

/

Voltage range (V)

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

15

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

Page 16 of 27

ZrO2 23

3.0-4.5

~180

160 (1 C)

AlPO4 24

2.7-4.3

135

/

Carbon 29

2.0-4.3

141

118 (2 C)

Carbon 30

2.8-4.3

153.7 (0.2 C)

134.3 (5 C)

Carbon 31

2.5-4.3

158 (1/7 C)

125 (~1 C)

Nb2O5 50

2.8-4.6

~180

~5 (10 C)

Sb2O3 51

3.0-4.6

~168

~134 (4 C)

LiF 52

2.5-4.5

179

137 (10 C)

Al2O3 53

2.75-4.5

176

100 (6 C)

SrF2 54

2.5-4.6

~178

/

ZrFx 55

3.0-4.6

~177 (1 C)

~50 (12 C)

FePO4 56

2.8-4.5

165

127 (5 C)

Phosphate 57

2.5-4.5

~160

90 (5 C)

Fig. 8 Cycle performances of NCM and NCM/C at 1 C (2.50-4.50 V)

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

16

Page 17 of 27

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

The cycling stabilities of NCM and NCM/C were investigated at 1 C (170 mAh g-1), as shown in Fig. 8. At 100 cycles, NCM has a discharge capacity of 113 mAh g-1, and the capacity retention is 72.4%. Meanwhile, the discharge capacity and the capacity retention of NCM/C are 162.7 mAh g-1 and 90.3% respectively. This indicates NCM/C has a superior cycling stability than NCM. The improved cycling performance of NCM/C is mainly ascribed to the carbon coating layer, which can inhibit the side reaction between LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 and liquid electrolyte

47, 58

. Although the coating of carbon brings a great improvement for the

electrochemical performance of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2, the reason for carbon forming is not clear and needs a further study. 4. Conclusion NCM/C has been synthesized through a facile way by using active carbon as the absorbent to absorb the solution containing the ions of Li+ and [M(NH3)x]2+ (M: Co, Ni and Mn). This cathode material presents a high specific capacity, an excellent cycling stability and high-rate capability, which is mainly due to the carbon coating. Carbon has the advantage in electronic conductivity, which helps to enhance the high-rate performance and as a coat also benefits to the reduction of the side reactions between LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 and liquid electrolyte. This method is easy and low cost for the production of carbon coated LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 in large scale, and is also suitable to synthesize other cathode materials. Acknowledgements Financial supports from the program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China ( 51272159), the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang province (LY15A040001),

Zhejiang

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

17

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

Page 18 of 27

provincial key research project (2015C01G2180002) and science technology bureau of Shaoxing (2014B70016) are gratefully acknowledged. References [1] Tarascon, J.M.; Armand, M. Issues and Challenges Facing Rechargeable Lithium Batteries. Nature 2001, 414, 359-367. [2] Li, H.; Wang, Z.; Chen, L.; Huang, X. Research on Advanced Materials for Li-Ion Batteries. Adv. Mater. 2009, 21, 4593-4607. [3] Liu, Q.; Mao, D.; Chang, C.; Huang, F. Phase Conversion and Morphology Evolution during Hydrothermal Preparation of Orthorhombic LiMnO2 Nanorods for Lithium Ion Battery Application. J. Power Sources 2007, 173, 538-544. [4] Kobayashi, S.; Fisher, C.A.; Kato, T.; Ukyo, Y.; Hirayama, T.; Ikuhara, Y. Atomic-Scale Observations of (010) LiFePO4 Surfaces Before and After Chemical Delithiation. Nano Lett. 2016, 16(9), 5409-5414. [5] Shao-Horn, Y.; Croguennec, L.; Delmas, C.; Nelson, E.C.; O'Keefe, M.A. Atomic Resolution of Lithium Ions in LiCoO2. Nat. Mater. 2003, 2, 464-467. [6] Yan, W.; Liu, Y.; Guo, S.; Jiang, T. Effect of Defects on Decay of Voltage and Capacity for Li[Li0.15Ni0.2Mn0.6]O2 Cathode Material. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2016, 8, 12118-12126. [7] Venkatraman, S.; Choi, J.; Manthiram, A. Factors Influencing the Chemical Lithium Extraction Rate from Layered LiNi1-y-zCoyMnzO2 Cathodes. Electrochem. Commun. 2004, 6(8), 832-837.

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

18

Page 19 of 27

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

[8] Benedek, R.; Vaughey, J.; Thackeray, M.M. Theory of Over Lithiation Reaction in LiMO2 Battery Electrodes. Chem. Mater. 2006, 18(5), 1296-1302. [9] Wang, H.; Ge, W.; Li, W.; Wang, F.; Liu, W.; Qu, M.; Peng, G. Facile Fabrication of Ethoxy-Functional Polysiloxane Wrapped LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 Cathode with Improved Cycling Performance for Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2016, 8, 1843918449. [10] Sa, Q.; Heelan, J.A.; Lu, Y.; Apelian, D.; Wang, Y. Copper Impurity Effects on LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 Cathode Material. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2015, 7, 20585-20590. [11] Chen, Z.; Wang, J.; Chao, D.; Baikie, T.; Bai, L.; Chen, S.; Zhao, Y.; Sum, T.C.; Lin,; J.; Shen, Z. Hierarchical Porous LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 Nano-/Micro Spherical Cathode Material: Minimized Cation Mixing and Improved Li+ Mobility for Enhanced Electrochemical Performance. Sci. Rep. 2016, 6, 25771. [12] Peng, L.; Zhu, Y.; Khakoo, U.; Chen, D.; Yu, G. Self-Assembled LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 Nanosheet Cathodes with Tunable Rate Capability. Nano Energy 2015, 17, 36-42 [13] Ohzuku, T.; Makimura, Y. Layered Lithium Insertion Material of LiCo1/3Ni1/3Mn1/3O2 for Lithium-Ion Batteries. Chem. Lett. 2001, 30, 642-643. [14] Hwang, B.J.; Tsai, Y.W.; Carlier, D.; Ceder, G. A Combined Computational/Experimental Study on LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2. Chem. Mater. 2003, 15(19), 3676-3682. [15] Hu, Y.; Zhou, Y.; Wang, J.; Shao, Z. Preparation and Characterization of Macroporous LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 Using Carbon Sphere as Template. Mater. Chem. Phys. 2011, 129, 296-300.

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

19

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

Page 20 of 27

[16] Dianat, A.; Seriani, N.; Bobeth, M.; Cuniberti, G. Effects of Al-Doping on the Properties of Li-Mn-Ni-O Cathode Materials for Li-Ion Batteries: An ab Initio Study. J. Mater. Chem. A 2013, 1, 9273-9280. [17] Lin, Y.; Lu, C. Preparation and Electrochemical Properties of Layer-Structured LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3-yAlyO2. J. Power Sources 2009, 189, 353-358. [18] Chen, W.; Li, Y.; Zhao, J.; Yang, F.; Zhang, J.; Shi, Q.; Mi, L. Controlled Synthesis of Concentration Gradient LiNi0.84Co0.10Mn0.04Al0.02O1.90F0.10 with Improved Electrochemical Properties in Li-Ion Batteries. RSC Adv. 2016, 6, 58173-58181. [19] Wang, J.; Du, C.; Yan, C.; He, X.; Song, B.; Yin, G.; Zuo, P.; Cheng, X. Al2O3 Coated Concentration-Gradient Li[Ni0.73Co0.12Mn0.15]O2 Cathode Material by Freeze Drying for LongLife Lithium Ion Batteries. Electrochim. Acta 2015, 174, 1185-1191. [20] Du, K.; Xie, H.; Hu, G.; Peng, Z.; Cao, Y.; Yu, F. Enhancing the Thermal and Upper Voltage Performance of Ni-Rich Cathode Material by a Homogeneous and Facile Coating Method: Spray-Drying Coating with Nano-Al2O3. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2016, 8, 1771317720. [21] Li, X.; Lin, Y.; Lin, Y.; Lai, H.; Huang, Z. Surface Modification of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 with Cr2O3 for Lithium Ion Batteries. Rare Metals 2012, 31, 140-144. [22] Uchida, S.; Zettsu, N.; Hirata, K.; Kami, K.; Teshima, K. High-Voltage Capabilities of Ultra-Thin Nb2O5 Nanosheet Coated LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 Cathodes. RSC Adv. 2016, 6, 6751467519.

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

20

Page 21 of 27

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

[23] Hu, S.; Cheng, G.; Cheng, M.; Hwang, B.; Santhanam, R. Cycle Life Improvement of ZrO2Coated Spherical LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 Cathode Material for Lithium Ion Batteries. J. Power Sources 2009, 188, 564-569. [24] Wang, J.; Wang, Y.; Guo, Y.; Ren, Z.; Liu, C. Effect of Heat-Treatment on the Surface Structure and Electrochemical Behavior of AlPO4-Coated LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 Cathode Materials. J. Mater. Chem. A 2013, 1, 4879-4884. [25] Kang, E.; Jung, Y.S.; Kim, G.; Chun, J.; Wiesner, U.; Dillon, A.C.; Kim, J.K.; Lee, J. Highly Improved Rate Capability for a Lithium-Ion Battery Nano-Li4Ti5O12 Negative Electrode via Carbon-Coated Mesoporous Uniform Pores with a Simple Self-Assembly Method. Adv. Func. Mater. 2011, 21, 4349-4357. [26] Wu, X.; Jiang, L.; Cao, F.; Guo, Y.; Wan, L. LiFePO4 Nanoparticles Embedded in a Nanoporous Carbon Matrix: Superior Cathode Material for Electrochemical Energy-Storage Devices. Adv. Mater. 2009, 21, 2710-2714. [27] Wang, Y.; Wang, Y.; Hosono, E.; Wang, K.; Zhou, H. The Design of a LiFePO4/Carbon Nanocomposite with a Core-Shell Structure and Its Synthesis by an in situ Polymerization Restriction Method. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2008, 47, 7461-7465. [28] Cui, L.; Yang, Y.; Hsu, C.; Cui, Y. Carbon-Silicon Core-Shell Nanowires as High Capacity Electrode for Lithium Ion Batteries. Nano Lett. 2009, 9, 3370-3374. [29] Marcinek, M.L.; Wilcox, J.W.; Doeff, M.M.; Kostecki, R.M. Microwave Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition of Carbon Coatings on LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 for Li-Ion Battery Composite Cathodes. J. Electrochem. Soc. 2009, 156, A48-A51.

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

21

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

Page 22 of 27

[30] Kim, H.; Kong, M.; Kim, K.; Kim, I.; Gu, H. Effect of Carbon Coating on LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 Cathode Material for Lithium Secondary Batteries. J. Power Sources 2007, 171, 917-921. [31] N.N. Sinha, N. Munichandraiah, Synthesis and Characterization of Carbon-Coated LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 in a Single Step by an Inverse Microemulsion Route. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2009, 1, 1241-1249. [32] Yang, C.F.; Zhang, X.S.; Huang, J.J.; Ao, P.; Zhang, G. Enhanced Rate Capability and Cycling Stability of Li1.2-xNaxMn0.54Co0.13Ni0.13O2. Electrochim. Acta 2016, 196, 261-269. [33] Koyama, Y.; Tanaka, I.; Adachi, H.; Makimura, Y.; Ohzuku, T. Crystal and Electronic Structures of Superstructural Li1-x[Co1/3Ni1/3Mn1/3]O2 (0≤x≤1). J. Power Sources 2003, 119-121, 644-648. [34] Yin, S.C.; Rho, Y.H.; Swainson, I.; Nazar, L.F. X-Ray/Neutron Diffraction and Electrochemical Studies of Lithium De/Re-intercalation in Li1-xNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 (x=0→1). Chem. Mater. 2006, 18, 1901-1910. [35] Li, L.; Wang, L.; Zhang, X.; Xie, M.; Wu, F.; Chen, R. Structural and Electrochemical Study of Hierarchical LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 Cathode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2015, 7, 21939-21947. [36] Li, X.; Peng, H.; Wang, M.; Zhao, X.; Huang, P.; Yang, W.; Xu, J.; Wang, Z.; Qu, M.; Yu, Z. Enhanced Electrochemical Performance of Zr-Modified Layered LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 Cathode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries. ChemElectroChem 2016, 3, 130-137.

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

22

Page 23 of 27

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

[37] Liao, X.; Huang, Q.; Mai, S.; Wang, X.; Xu, M.; Xing, L.; Liao, Y.; Li, W. Understanding Self-Discharge Mechanism of Layered Nickel Cobalt Manganese Oxide at High Potential. J. Power Sources 2015, 286, 551-556. [38] Luo, X.; Wang, X.; Liao, L.; Wang, X.; Gamboa, S.; Sebastian, P.J. Effects of Synthesis Conditions on the Structural and Electrochemical Properties of Layered Li[Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3]O2 Cathode Material via the Hydroxide Co-Precipitation Method LIB SCITECH. J. Power Sources 2006, 161, 601-605. [39] Zhang, X.; Mauger, A.; Lu, Q.; Groult, H.; Perrigaud, L.; Gendron, F.; Julien, C.M. Synthesis and Characterization of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 by Wet-Chemical Method. Electrochim. Acta 2010, 55, 6440-6449. [40] Manikandan, P.; Periasamy, P.; Jagannathan, R. Faceted Shape-Drive Cathode Particles using

Mixed

Hydroxy-Carbonate

Precursor

for

Mesocarbon

Microbeads

Versus

LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 Li-Ion Pouch Cell. J. Power Sources 2014, 245, 501-509. [41] Yin, K.; Fang, W.; Zhong, B.; Guo, X.; Tang, Y.; Nie, X. The Effects of Precipitant Agent on Structure and Performance of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 Cathode Material via a Carbonate CoPrecipitation Method. Electrochim. Acta 2012, 85, 99-103. [42] Zhang, X.; Jiang, W.J.; Mauger, A.; Gendron Qilu, F.; Julien, C.M.; Minimization of the Cation Mixing in Li1+x(NMC)1-xO2 as Cathode Material. J. Power Sources 2010, 195, 12921301.

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

23

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

Page 24 of 27

[43] Wang, G.J.; Gao, J.; Fu, L.J.; Zhao, N.H.; Wu, Y.P.; Takamura, T.; Preparation and Characteristic of Carbon-Coated Li4Ti5O12 Anode Material. J. Power Sources 2007, 174, 11091112. [44] Shaju, K.M.; Subba Rao, G.V.; Chowdari, B.V.R. Performance of Layered LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 as Cathode for Li-Ion Batteries. Electrochim. Acta 2002, 48, 145-151. [45] Hsieh, C.; Mo, C.; Chen, Y.; Chung, Y. Chemical-Wet Synthesis and Electrochemistry of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 Cathode Materials for Li-Ion Batteries. Electrochim. Acta 2013, 106, 525533. [46] Kızıltaş-Yavuz, N.; Herklotz, M.; Hashem, A.M.; Abuzeid, H.M.; Schwarz, B.; Ehrenberg, H.; Mauger, A.; Julien, C.M. Synthesis, Structural, Magnetic and Electrochemical Properties of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 Prepared by a Sol-Gel Method Using Table Sugar as Chelating Agent. Electrochim. Acta 2013, 113, 313-321. [47] Lin, B.; Wen, Z.; Wang, X.; Liu, Y. Preparation and Characterization of Carbon-Coated Li[Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3]O2 Cathode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries. J. Solid State Electrochem. 2010, 14, 1807-1811. [48] Wang, L.; Zhao, J.S.; He, X.M. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) Study of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 for Li-Ion Batteries. J. Electrochem. Sci 2012, 7, 345-353. [49] Buqa, H.; Golob, P.; Winter, M.; Besenhard, J.O. Modified Carbons for Improved Anodes in Lithium Ion Cells. J. Power Sources 2001, 97-98, 122-125.

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

24

Page 25 of 27

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

[50] Peled, E.; Menachem, C.; Bar Tow, D.; Melman, A. Improved Graphite Anode for LithiumIon Batteries Chemically: Bonded Solid Electrolyte Interface and Nanochannel Formation. J. Electrochem. Soc. 1996, 143, L4-L7. [51] Han, Z.; Yu, J.; Zhan, H.; Liu, X.; Zhou, Y. Sb2O3-Modified LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 Material with Enhanced Thermal Safety and Electrochemical Property. J. Power Sources 2014, 254, 106111. [52] Shi, S.J.; Tu, J.P.; Tang, Y.Y.; Zhang, Y.Q.; Liu, X.Y.; Wang, X.L.; Gu, C.D. Enhanced Electrochemical Performance of LiF-Modified LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 Cathode Materials for Li-Ion Batteries. J. Power Sources 2013, 225, 338-346. [53] Shen, D.; Zhang, D.; Wen, J.; Chen, D.; He, X.; Yao, Y.; Li, X.; Duger, C. LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 Coated by Al2O3 from Urea Homogeneous Precipitation Method: Improved Li Storage Performance and Mechanism Exploring. J. Solid State Electrochem. 2015, 19, 15231533. [54] Li, J.; Wang, L.; Zhang, Q.; He, X. Electrochemical Performance of SrF2-Coated LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 Cathode Materials for Li-Ion Batteries. J. Power Sources 2009, 190, 149153. [55] Yun, S.H.; Park, K.; Park, Y.J. The Electrochemical Property of ZrFx-Coated LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 Cathode Material. J. Power Sources 2010, 195, 6108-6115. [56] Liu, X.; Li, H.; Yoo, E.; Ishida, M.; Zhou, H. Fabrication of FePO4 Layer Coated LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2: Towards High-Performance Cathode Materials for Lithium Ion Batteries. Electrochim. Acta 2012, 83, 253-258.

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

25

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

Page 26 of 27

[57] Yao, Y.; Liu, H.; Li, G.; Peng, H.; Chen, K.; Synthesis and Electrochemical Performance of Phosphate-Coated Porous LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 Cathode Material for Lithium Ion Batteries. Electrochim. Acta 2013, 113, 340-345. [58] Yang, T.; Zhang, N.; Lang, Y.; Sun, K. Enhanced Rate Performance of Carbon-Coated LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 Cathode Material for Lithium Ion Batteries. Electrochim. Acta 2011, 56, 40584064.

Figure captions: Fig. 1 XRD spectra of NCM and NCM/C (a); Rievelt refinement XRD spectra of NCM and NCM/C (b-c); the schematic micro-structure of NCM/C (d). Fig. 2 SEM images of NCM (a) and NCM/C (b); TEM images of NCM (c) and NCM/C (d). Fig. 3 Schematic illustration of the synthesis process of NCM/C. Fig. 4 EDS spectra and mapping of NCM and NCM/C. Fig. 5 Initial charge/discharge performances of NCM and NCM/C, current density: 85 mA g-1. Fig. 6 Rate capabilities of NCM and NCM/C from 0.5 C to 40 C (2.50-4.50 V). Fig. 7 Fitted Nyquist plots (a), relationships between Z’ and ω-1/2 at low frequency region (b) and corresponding equivalent circuits (c) of NCM and NCM/C. Fig. 8 Cycle performances of NCM and NCM/C at 1 C (2.50-4.50 V).

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

26

Page 27 of 27

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

TOC picture

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

27