Recent advances and historical developments of high voltage lithium cobalt oxide materials for rechargeable Li-ion batteries

One of the big challenges for enhancing the energy density of lithium ion batteries (LIBs) to meet increasing demands for portable electronic devices is to develop the high voltage lithium cobalt oxide materials (HV-LCO, >4.5V vs graphite). In this review, we examine the historical developments of lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) based cathode materials in the last 40 years. According to the research topics at different periods, three research and developing stages of LCO are classified and elaborated. At the first stage, the researches on the basic properties of LCO are comprehensively summarized, which includes crystal/electronic structure, phase changes, electrochemical process, and failure mechanism. At the second stage, the elegant development of modification methods, which aim at improving the stability of the bulk structure, thermal and interface, are introduced in detail. The third stage started from 2018, high capacity (>190 mAh g−1), highly stable and high-rate capability of LCO is being developed and expected to be commercialized in the next few years. Finally, some perspectives of the remaining challenges, as well as the promising applications of HV-LCO, are also discussed.