Temperature dependent ageing mechanisms in Lithium-ion batteries – A Post-Mortem study

The effects of temperatures in the range of −20 °C to 70 °C on the ageing behaviour of cycled Lithium-ion batteries are investigated quantitatively by electrochemical methods and Post-Mortem analysis. Commercial 18650-type high-power cells with a LixNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2/LiyMn2O4 blend cathode and graphite/carbon anode were used as test system. The cells were cycled at a rate of 1 C until the discharge capacity falls below 80% of the initial capacity. Interestingly, an Arrhenius plot indicates two different ageing mechanisms for the ranges of −20 °C to 25 °C and 25 °C to 70 °C. Below 25 °C, the ageing rates increase with decreasing temperature, while above 25 °C ageing is accelerated with increasing temperature. The aged 18650 cells are inspected via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), inductively coupled plasma (ICP), measurements of electrode thickness and X-ray diffraction (XRD) after disassembly to learn more about the chemical reasons of the degradation. The effect of different temperatures on the electrode polarizations are evaluated by assembling electrodes in pouch cells with reference electrode as a model system. We find that the dominating ageing mechanism for T < 25 °C is Lithium plating, while for T > 25 °C the cathodes show degeneration and the anodes will be increasingly covered by SEI layers.