Precise surface control of cathode materials for stable lithium-ion batteries

The increasing demand for high-energy Li-ion batteries (LIBs) continues to push the development of electrode materials, particularly cathode materials, towards their capacity limits. Despite the enormous success, the stability and reliability of LIBs are becoming a serious concern due to the much-aggravated side reactions between electrode materials and organic electrolytes. How to stabilize the cathode/electrolyte interface is therefore an imperative and urgent task drawing considerable attention from both academia and industry. An active treatment on the surface of cathode materials, usually by introducing an inert protection layer, to diminish their side reaction with electrolytes turns out to be a reasonable and effective strategy. This Feature Article firstly outlines our synthesis efforts for the construction of a uniform surface nanocoating on various cathode materials. Different wet chemical routes have been designed to facilitate the control of growth kinetics of targeted coating species so that a precise surface coating could be achieved with nanometer accuracy. Furthermore, we showed the possibility to transform the outer coating layer into a surface doping effect through surface solid reaction at high temperature. A detailed discussion on the structure-performance relationship of these surface-controlled cathode materials is introduced to probe the stabilization mechanism. Finally, perspectives on the development tendency of high-energy cathodes for stable LIBs are provided.