Surface Engineering and Trace Cobalt Doping Suppress Overall Li/Ni Mixing of Li-rich Mn-based Cathode Materials

To supress Li/Ni mixing, the strategy of surface modification and Co doping is proposed. Doping trace Co can suppress Li/Ni mixing in the bulk phase of cathode particles, while the rock-salt shell of a cathode originally containing a large amount of Li/Ni mixed rows can be transformed into a cation-ordered spinel phase and a layered phase on the inside by means of surface engineering. Simultaneously, as a coating layer, the Li₂MoO₄ nanolayer forms on the surface. With the improved Li-ion diffusion, certain inhibitory effects on voltage attenuation and capacity loss are found. It shows that the surface modification with trace Co dopants greatly reduces the Li/Ni mixing level in the material, beneficial to improving the electrochemical performance. As expected, the Li-rich Mn-based cathode material with a low level of overall Li/Ni mixing shows an initial discharging capacity of 303 mAh g^–1. This indicates that the joint application of doping and surface coating effectively enhances the performance of the cathode materials with an ultra-low dosage of Co. This idea is helpful to structure other layered cathode materials by surface engineering.