Nanocomposite Engineering of a High-Capacity Partially Ordered Cathode for Li-Ion Batteries.

Understanding the local cation order in the crystal structure and its correlation with electrochemical performances has advanced the development of high-energy Mn-rich cathode materials for Li-ion batteries, notably Li- and Mn-rich layered cathodes (LMR, e.g., Li Ni Mn Co O ) that are considered as nanocomposite layered materials with C2/m Li MnO -type medium-range order (MRO).

Selectively Enhanced Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution within Nanoscopic Channels Fitting a Specific Reaction Intermediate for Seawater Splitting.

Abundant availability of seawater grants economic and resource-rich benefits to water electrolysis technology requiring high-purity water if undesired reactions such as chlorine evolution reaction (CER) competitive to oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are suppressed. Inspired by a conceptual computational work suggesting that OER is kinetically improved via a double activation within 7 Å-gap nanochannels, RuO catalysts are realized to have nanoscopic channels at 7, 11, and 14 Å gap in average (d ), and preferential activity improvement of OER over CER in seawater by using nanochanneled RuO is demonstrated. When the channels are developed to have 7 Å gap, the OER current is maximized with the overpotential required for triggering OER minimized.

Lattice-Oxygen-Stabilized Li- and Mn-Rich Cathodes with Sub-Micrometer Particles by Modifying the Excess-Li Distribution.

In recent years, Li- and Mn-rich layered oxides (LMRs) have been vigorously explored as promising cathodes for next-generation, Li-ion batteries due to their high specific energy. Nevertheless, their actual implementation is still far from a reality since the trade-off relationship between the particle size and chemical reversibility prevents LMRs from achieving a satisfactory, industrial energy density. To solve this material dilemma, herein, a novel morphological and structural design is introduced to Li Mn Ni Co O , reporting a sub-micrometer-level LMR with a relatively delocalized, excess-Li system.