Locking oxygen in lattice: A quantifiable comparison of gas generation in polycrystalline and single crystal Ni-rich cathodes

High-energy Ni-rich NMC (LiNixMnyCo1-x-yO2, x ≥ 0.6) is a very promising cathode material in Li-ion batteries but the gas generation during cycling is a significant safety concern and becomes the major roadblock of the large-scale commercialization of Ni-rich NMC cathode materials. Micron-sized single crystal Ni-rich NMC has a potential to address the common issues that polycrystals have. However, it is unknown if gassing issue will be mitigated or even eliminated by using single crystals, not mentioning a quantifiable understanding of gas generation from single crystals and polycrystals. This work takes LiNi0.76Mn0.14Co0.1O2 (NMC76) as a model material to study the mechanism of gas generation from single crystal and polycrystalline NMC by using both coin cells and pouch cells, which provides different conclusions on the generated gases, highlighting the importance of using relevant testing conditions for fundamental diagnostic study on battery materials. The information from single crystal NMC also provides critical insights from material perspective to enhance the safety attributes of Ni-rich NMC cathodes.