Abstract
Lithium rich layered oxide xLi(2)MnO(3)center dot(1-x)LiMO2 (M = Mn, Co, Ni, etc.) materials are promising cathode materials for next generation lithium ion batteries. However, the understanding of their electrochemical kinetic behaviors is limited. In this work, the phase separation behaviors and electrochemical kinetics of 0.5Li(2)MnO(3)center dot 0.5LiCoO(2) materials with various Li2MnO3 domain sizes were studied. Despite having similar morphological, crystal and local atomic structures, materials with various Li2MnO3 domain sizes exhibited different phase separation behavior resulting in disparate lithium ion transport kinetics. For the first few cycles, the 0.5Li(2)MnO(3)center dot 0.5LiCoO(2) material with a small Li2MnO3 domain size had higher lithium ion diffusion coefficients due to shorter diffusion path lengths. However, after extended cycles, the 0.5Li(2)MnO(3)center dot 0.5LiCoO(2) material with larger Li2MnO3 domain size showed higher lithium ion diffusion coefficients, since the larger Li2MnO3 domain size could retard structural transitions. This leads to fewer structural rearrangements, reduced structural disorders and defects, which allows better lithium ion mobility in the material.
