Probing Thermal Stability of Li-Ion Battery Ni-Rich Layered Oxide Cathodes by means of Operando Gas Analysis and Neutron Diffraction

Thermal stability is a crucial parameter that must be considered within the overall performance metrics of Ni-rich layered oxide cathodes. While the intrinsic structural stability of the cathode materials under thermal conditions is important, it is also critical to consider their reaction with electrolytes. In this paper, operando gas analysis, ex situ neutron diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry were combined to give a broader picture of the thermal stability of Ni-rich NMC cathodes. Li1–xNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 (NMC811) composite materials with four different states of charge were investigated with and without the presence of an electrolyte. It has been found that electrolyte can greatly accelerate both the structural and thermal decomposition of the cathode materials. A higher state of charge will also make cathode materials more susceptible to thermal shock. Without an electrolyte, O2 release inducing a structural change from layered to rock salt was the major observation during thermal runaway. However, all samples retained some levels of layered structure after annealing up to 300 °C without the electrolyte. In comparison, almost all the O3-type layered phase transformed to the rock-salt phase for the cathode materials heated with the electrolyte at the same experimental conditions. Moreover, the amount of CO2 increased by nearly two orders of magnitude when annealing cathode materials with electrolyte in operando gas analysis experiments. More delithiated NMC811 samples released larger amounts of CO2 at earlier onset temperatures, resonating well with the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results showing that more delithiated samples release more heat during thermal shock.