Incorporation of Titanium into Ni-Rich Layered Cathode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

In the development of a reliable cathode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), it is crucial to clearly understand the structural degradation mechanism and its correlation with the electrochemical performance. In this context, herein, we thoroughly investigate the positive effects of Ti incorporation into the bulk structure of a Ni-rich layered cathode material, LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811). As a result, the structural integrity and thermal stability of NCM811 particles can be enhanced, leading to a noticeable improvement in the cycle performance even at a high temperature of 60 °C. From a postmortem analysis, we confirm that Ti incorporation would enhance the structural integrity between primary particles by suppressing the undesirable grain boundary corrosion in the particles. Thus, Ti incorporation is beneficial for improving the cycle stability and thermal stability of NCM811. Our findings on the correlation between the structural evolution and electrochemical performance of Ti-incorporated NCM811 provide practical guidelines to develop advanced cathode materials for high-energy LIBs.