Electrochemical and Structural Study of the Layered, “Li-Excess” Lithium-Ion Battery Electrode Material Li[Li1/9Ni1/3Mn5/9]O2

The overcapacity mechanism and high voltage process of the Li-excess electrode material Li[Li1/9Ni1/3Mn5/9]O2 are studied by solid-state NMR, X-ray diffraction, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, combined with galvanostatic and potentiostatic intermittent titration electrochemical measurements. The cycling performance is improved noticeably when the material is cycled between potential windows of 5.3−2.5 V compared to 4.6−2.5 V. Diffraction data show that structural changes occur at high voltages, the solid-state NMR data of the same samples indicating that the high voltage processes above 4.4 V are associated with Li removal from the structure, in addition to electrolyte decomposition. The NMR spectra of the discharged samples show that cation rearrangements in the transition metal layers have occurred. The XAS spectra confirm that the Mn oxidation state remains unchanged at 4+, whereas Ni2+ is oxidized to Ni4+ on charging to 4.4 V, returning to Ni2+ on discharge, independen...