“The combination of almost no spinel formation with its other properties makes this coating a very exciting material,” Amine says. In this reaction, the cathode material converts to another form called spinel. The coating also largely prevents another reaction that causes the battery’s cathode to deactivate. “This coating is essentially friendly to all of the processes and chemistry that makes the battery work and unfriendly to all of the potential reactions that would cause the battery to degrade or malfunction,” says Argonne chemist Guiliang Xu, the first author of the research. Unlike conventional coatings, which only protect the exterior surface of the micron-sized cathode particles and leave the interior vulnerable to cracking, the PEDOT coating had the ability to penetrate to the cathode particle’s interior, adding another layer of shielding.Īlthough PEDOT prevents the chemical interaction between the battery and the electrolyte, it does allow for the necessary transport of lithium ions and electrons that the battery requires to function. This polymer provides the cathode a layer of protection from the battery’s electrolyte as the battery charges and discharges. In the DOE-funded research, Amine and his fellow researchers took particles of Argonne’s pioneering nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) cathode material and encapsulated them with a sulfur-containing polymer called PEDOT. “The coating we’ve discovered really hits five or six birds with one stone,” says Khalil Amine, Argonne distinguished fellow and battery scientist. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory (Lemont, Illinois, USA) have developed a new cathode coating by using an oxidative chemical vapor deposition technique that can help solve these and several other potential issues with lithium-ion batteries. In a new discovery, scientists at the U.S. Building a better lithium-ion battery involves addressing a myriad of factors simultaneously, from keeping the battery’s cathode electrically and ionically conductive to making sure that the battery stays safe after many cycles.

Argonne nmc cathode