Cathode Materials for Lithium-ion Batteries: A brief review

Layered lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) as a pioneer commercial cathode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is unsuitable for the next generation of LIBs, which require high energy density, good rate performance, improved safety, low cost, and environmental friendliness. LiCoO2 suffers from structural instability at a high level of delithiation and performance degradation when overcharged. Besides, cobalt, a significant constituent of LiCoO2 is more costly and less environmentally friendly than other transition metals. Therefore, alternative cathode materials are being explored to replace LiCoO2 as cathode materials for high-performance LIBs. These new cathode materials, including lithiated transition metal oxides, vanadium pentoxides, and polyanion-type materials, are reviewed in this study. The various challenges hampering the full integration of these cathode materials in commercial LIBs and viable solutions are emphasised.