Electrochemical performance of SrF2-coated LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 cathode materials for Li-ion batteries

SrF2-coated LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 cathode materials with improved cycling performance over 2.5–4.6 V were investigated. The structural and electrochemical properties of the materials were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), charge–discharge tests and electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS). The results showed that the crystalline SrF2 with about 10–50 nm particle size is uniformly coated on the surface of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 particles. As the coating amount increased from 0.0 to 2.0 mol%, the initial capacity and rate capability of the coated LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 decreased slightly owing to the increase of the charge-transfer resistance; however, the cycling stability was improved by suppressing the increase of the resistance during cycling. 4.0 mol% SrF2-coated LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 showed remarkable decrease of the initial capacity. 2.0 mol% coated sample exhibited the best electrochemical performance. It presented an initial discharge capacity of 165.7 mAh g−1, and a capacity retention of 86.9% after 50 cycles at 4.6 V cut-off cycling.