Power fade in lithium-ion batteries: Reactions on the surface of metal oxide cathode particles

Commercial lithium-ion batteries cathodes are typically composed of metal oxides such as LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 or LiCo0.2. While these metal oxides have excellent performance at room temperature, reactions occur with the liquid electrolyte, LiPF6 in organic carbonates, at \u3e 60°C. The reactions of the electrolyte with the surface of the cathode particles were studied and additives to prevent these surface reactions were developed. The surface of the metal oxides particles were characterized with a combination of SEM, XPS, and Auger spectroscopy. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 229th ACS National Meeting (San Diego, CA 3/13-17/2005)