Cation Ordering and Oxygen Release in LiNi_{0.5–<i>x</i>}Mn_1.5+<i>x</i>O_4–<i>y</i> (LNMO): In Situ Neutron Diffraction and Performance in Li Ion Full Cells

Lithium ion cells utilizing LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) as the positive electrode are prone to fast capacity fading, especially when operated in full cells and at elevated temperatures. The crystal structure of LNMO can adopt a P4332 (cation-ordered) or Fd3̅m (disordered) arrangement, and the fading rate of cells is usually mitigated when samples possess the latter structure. However, synthesis conditions leading to disordering also lead to oxygen deficiencies and rock-salt impurities and as a result generate Mn3+. In this study, in situ neutron diffraction was performed on disordered and slightly Mn-rich LNMO samples to follow cation ordering–disordering transformations during heating and cooling. The study shows for the first time that there is not a direct connection between oxygen release and cation disordering, as cation disordering is observed to start prior to oxygen release when the samples are heated in a pure oxygen atmosphere. This result demonstrates that it is possible to tune disordering in LNMO without inducing oxygen deficiencies or forming the rock-salt impurity phase. In the second part of the study, electrochemical testing of samples with different degrees of ordering and oxygen content has been performed in LNMO∥LTO (Li4Ti5O12) full cells. The disordered sample exhibits better performance, as has been reported in other studies; however, we observe that all cells behave similarly during the initial period of cycling even when discharged at a 10 C rate, while differences arise only after a period of cycling. Additionally, the differences in fading rate were observed to be time-dependent rather than dependent on the number of cycles. This performance degradation is believed to be related to instabilities in LNMO at higher voltages, that is, in its lower lithiation states. Therefore, it is suggested that future studies should target the individual effects of ordering and oxygen content. It is also suggested that more emphasis during electrochemical testing should be placed on the stability of samples in their delithiated state