A Different Way to Make a Cathode May Mean Better Batteries
January 13, 2016 | Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryEstimated reading time: 4 minutes
Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide, or NMC, is one of the most promising chemistries for better lithium batteries, especially for electric vehicle applications, but scientists have been struggling to get higher capacity out of them. Now researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have found that using a different method to make the material can offer substantial improvements.
Working with scientists at two other Department of Energy (DOE) labs—Brookhaven National Laboratory and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory—a team led by Berkeley Lab battery scientist Marca Doeff was surprised to find that using a simple technique called spray pyrolysis can help to overcome one of the biggest problems associated with NMC cathodes—surface reactivity, which leads to material degradation.
These 3D elemental association maps generated using transmission X-ray tomography show the cathode material made by Berkeley Lab Marca Doeff and her team using spray pyrolysis.
“We made some regular material using this technique, and lo and behold, it performed better than expected,” said Doeff, who has been studying NMC cathodes for about seven years. “We were at a loss to explain this, and none of our conventional material characterization techniques told us what was going on, so we went to SLAC and Brookhaven to use more advanced imaging techniques and found that there was less nickel on the particle surfaces, which is what led to the improvement. High nickel content is associated with greater surface reactivity.”
Their results were published online in the premier issue of the journal Nature Energy in an article titled, “Metal segregation in hierarchically structured cathode materials for high-energy lithium batteries.” The facilities used were the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) at SLAC and the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) at Brookhaven, both DOE Office of Science User Facilities.
Page 1 of 3
Suggested Items
Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2024: Sustainability in the Industry
04/26/2024 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOGuest Editor Henry Crandall and Chris Nash of Indium Corporation discuss the company's 90th anniversary and its focus on sustainability. They focus on the benefits of sustainable materials, their compatibility, and value propositions. The conversation also highlights how Durafuse LT technology's role in reducing reflow temperatures is leading to significant cost and energy savings. Nash also touches on downstream sustainability efforts such as using recycled materials for packaging.
SMC Korea 2024 to Highlight Semiconductor Materials Trends and Innovations on Industry’s Path to $1 Trillion
04/24/2024 | SEMIWith Korea a major consumer of semiconductor materials and advanced materials a key driver of innovation on the industry’s path to $1 trillion, industry leaders and experts will gather at SMC (Strategic Materials Conference) Korea 2024 on May 29 at the Suwon Convention Center in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea to provide insights into the latest materials developments and trends. Registration is open.
Groundbreaking Ceremony Marks the Beginning of a New Era for Newccess Industrial; The Construction of the MINGXIN Building
04/12/2024 | Newccess IndustrialOn a clear and sunny day in March, the groundbreaking ceremony for the MINGXIN Building took place in Shenzhen, China. This moment marked the official commencement of construction for a project that will reshape the semiconductor materials industry.
The Need for a Holistic Global Sustainability Standard
04/10/2024 | Michael Ford, Aegis SoftwareNo one can deny that the resources of our fragile planet are finite. The environment seems like a third party, subject to constant degradation. We’re acutely aware of the effects of pollution on our climate, and despite our “throw-away” culture, recycling and recovery of materials has remained relatively expensive, even as we use more energy just to survive.
iNEMI Publishes Four Roadmap Topics
04/04/2024 | iNEMIThe International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) announces the availability of the first roadmap topics in the new iNEMI Roadmap format. Printed circuit boards, sustainable electronics, smart manufacturing, and mmWave materials and test are now available online.