Experimental Confirmation of Low Surface Energy in LiCoO2 and Implications for Lithium Battery Electrodes

Water adsorption on the surface of LiCoO2 nanoparticles was investigated. As the water coverage increases the adsorption enthalpy decreases reaching the enthalpy of water condensation (−44 kJ mol−1). The experimentally observed average surface energy corresponding to all facets agree well with those reported from DFT calculations. The observed low surface energy is attributed to the surface Co3+ spin transition in nanophase LiCoO2.