Enhanced electrochemical and thermal properties of Sm2O3 coated Li[Li1/6Mn1/2Ni1/6Co1/6]O-2 for Li-ion batteries

Abstract

For EV vehicles of the future, a lithium ion battery with highly enhanced electrochemical and thermal properties has been widely investigated. Here we introduce Sm2O3 as a new surface coating source for the cathode material of Li-ion batteries and explore the effects of the Sm2O3 coating using XRD, EIS, and DSC measurements. The cathode material used is Li[Li1/6Mn1/2Co1/6Ni1/6]O-2. The XRD and TEM results indicate that the Sm2O3 is coated on the surface of the cathode material without changing the layered structure of the core Li[Li1/6Mn1/2Co1/6Ni1/6]O-2. With the Sm2O3 coating, the cycling performance during 50 cycles using 6 C rate, as well as 1 C rate, is highly improved, five times better. The EIS results show that film resistance and the charge transfer resistance decrease in comparison with the pristine Li[Li1/6Mn1/2Co1/6Ni1/6]O-2. Furthermore, the DSC results show a highly enhanced thermal property. We highly recommend the Sm2O3 coating for Li-ion batteries for various applications.