Nanoscale operation of Ni-Rich cathode surface by polycrystalline solid electrolytes Li3.2Zr0.4Si0.6O3.6 coating

As nickel-rich cathodes materials begin to attract immense attentions for its ultra-high capacity for Li-ion batteries (LIBs), their cycling stability remains insufficient for electric vehicles. Surface coating is regarded as an efficient approach in the enhancement of Ni-rich cathodes. Unfortunately, surface modification of cathode via a simple and effective way is still great challenges. Here we report a facile one-step chemical approach using nanoscale polycrystalline of solid electrolyte Li3.2Zr0.4Si0.6O3.6 (NP-LZSO) to build a conductive protective coating on Ni-rich cathode LiNi0.8Co0.15Mn0.05O2 (NCM). The NP-LZSO coating layer facilitates the transportation of Li-ions, significantly suppresses the undesired side reactions in cycling process, and effectively stabilizes the electrolyte-NCM interface. This approach remarkably improves the cycling stability with a capacity retention rate of 79.9% over 400 cycles at 0.2C. This effective strategy provides a new insight using nanoscale polycrystalline of solid electrolyte to modify surface of nickel-rich cathodes to improve its cyclic performance.