Systematic electrochemical analysis of high-capacity NMC-88 and NMC-83 cathodes for lithium-ion batteries

Among the current battery technologies, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are essential for shaping future energy sites in stationary storage. However, their capacity, cyclic stability, and high cost are still challenging in research and development. To overcome these drawbacks, nickel-rich ternary cathode materials, with their outstanding capacity, have become the linchpin materials. It represents a prominent class of cathode materials for LIBs due to their high energy density and capacity. A powder material exhibiting single-crystalline LiNi_0.88Mn_0.02Co_0.10O₂ (NMC-88) and LiNi_0.83Mn_0.06Co_0.11O₂ (NMC-83) cathodes was synthesized through the co-precipitation technique and systematically analyzed. Among these NMCs, the electrochemical evaluation of the NMC-88 revealed a high initial discharge capacity of 216 mAh/g and 190.7 mAh/g at 0.1 C and 0.5 C and achieved 70.6% retention after 90 cycles at 1 C, while the NMC-83 attained only 44.62%. The results suggest that the high nickel-rich NMC-88 cathode has good discharge capacity, rate capability, and cyclic performance, with better interface and stability than NMC-83.