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Dual-functional urea induced interface reaction enables the improved cycling stability of cation-disordered Li1.2Ti0.4Mn0.4O2 cathode

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Abstract

Cation-disordered rocksalt (DRX) oxides show promise as lithium-ion battery cathodes due to their high theoretical capacity derived from anionic redox. However, the challenges of poor anionic redox reversibility, causing oxygen loss and voltage hysteresis, lead to rapid capacity decay. This study employs a dual-functional urea treatment on Li1.2Ti0.4Mn0.4O2 DRX cathodes, generating oxygen vacancies in the subsurface and a protective carbon nitride layer on the surface through interface reactions. Characterization via X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirms these alterations. The presence of oxygen vacancies reduces the average Mn valence, increasing the capacity contributed by Mn and enhancing the reversibility of anionic oxygen redox, thus curbing oxygen loss. Additionally, the carbon nitride layer curtails the parasitic reaction between active oxygen species and the electrolyte. Urea-treated Li1.2Ti0.4Mn0.4O2 exhibits enhanced electrochemical performance, retaining a higher capacity (151 mAh⋅g−1, 80.3% of capacity retention) after 50 cycles compared to neat Li1.2Ti0.4Mn0.4O2 (117 mAh⋅g−1, 64.6% retention). Furthermore, the treatment improves lithium-ion diffusion and rate capability. This dual-functional urea approach presents a promising strategy for enhancing DRX cathode materials and advancing high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

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Funding

This work was supported by grants from the Hubei Province Technology Innovation Project (2018AAA056), an Opening Fund of The Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry for Energy Conversion and Storage (HUST).

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  1. School of Material and Chemical Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, 430068, China

    Minyi Su, Yu Yan, Yining Sun, Haiying Xie, Yamin Cheng, Jian Xiong & Guodong Jiang

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  1. Minyi Su
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  2. Yu Yan
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  3. Yining Sun
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Contributions

Conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, writing—original draft: Minyi Su; methodology, data curation, investigation: Yu Yan, Yining Sun. Investigation: Haiying Xie; conceptualization: Yaming Cheng; validation, supervision: Jian Xiong. Conceptualization, writing—review, and editing, supervision, validation: Guodong Jiang.

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Correspondence to Guodong Jiang.

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Su, M., Yan, Y., Sun, Y. et al. Dual-functional urea induced interface reaction enables the improved cycling stability of cation-disordered Li1.2Ti0.4Mn0.4O2 cathode. J Solid State Electrochem (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-024-05831-8

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