Enhanced electrochemical properties of Li[Li0.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13]O2 via lithium boron oxide glass surface treatment

•Layered Li2O·2B2O3-coated Li[Li0.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13]O2 materials were synthetized.•The electrochemical properties were enhanced significantly by Li2O·2B2O3 coating.•The structure stability of materials could be increased by Li2O·2B2O3 coating.•Li2O·2B2O3-coated sample possessed superior electrochemical property.

A Li2O·2B2O3 layer is successfully coated on the surface of Li-rich layered cathode Li[Li0.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13]O2, which is demonstrated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electrochemical performance of the pristine and LBO-coated materials have been investigated by galvanostatic charge/discharge. The experiment results indicate that the electrochemical performances of Li-rich cathode materials are obviously improved by LBO surface modification. Particularly, the sample with 3 wt.% LBO-coating shows the best cycling performance, with capacity retention of 92% after 100 cycles, which is much better than the pristine one. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) reveals that the enhanced electrochemical performances of the LBO-coated sample are due to the enhancement of surface electronic conductivity and the suppression of the decomposition of electrolyte.