Electrochemical Performance of LBO-coated Ni-rich NCM Cathode Material: Experimental and Numerical Approaches

Ni-rich NCM-based cathode materials have garnered significant research interest for the development of high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to their high energy capacity and low cost. However, they undergo several electrochemical degradation reactions that deteriorate the cathode performance. To alleviate the deterioration of the cathode, researchers have adopted surface coating materials, especially Li3BO3 (LBO), which demonstrates a superior modification effect, for Ni-rich NCM. Here, we investigate the electrochemical characteristics of an LBO-coated Ni-rich NCM cathode via experimental and numerical approaches. The cathode is synthesized through a wet chemical deposition method, and electrochemical measurements are conducted using coin half-cells. To further understand the effect of coating layer on the electrochemical performance, we developed an electrode coating model with modifying the porous electrode model. The model employs an impurity layer (Li2CO3 and LiOH), a protective layer (LiF), and a coating layer (LBO) to predict the discharge performance of LIBs. The validation results of the model are consistent with the experimental results. Electrochemical prediction results demonstrate that the LBO-coated Ni-rich NCM cathode would increase the discharge capacity.