Interfacial Design for a 4.6 V High-Voltage Single-Crystalline LiCoO2 Cathode

Single-crystalline cathode materials have attracted intensive interest in offering greater capacity retention than their polycrystalline counterparts by reducing material surfaces and phase boundaries. However, the single-crystalline LiCoO2 suffers severe structural instability and capacity fading when charged to high voltages (4.6 V) due to Co element dissolution and O loss, crack formation, and subsequent electrolyte penetration. Herein, by forming a robust cathode electrolyte interphase (CEI) in an all-fluorinated electrolyte, reversible planar gliding along the (003) plane in a single-crystalline LiCoO2 cathode is protected due to the prevention of element dissolution and electrolyte penetration. The robust CEI effectively controls the performance fading issue of the single-crystalline cathode at a high operating voltage of 4.6 V, providing new insights for improved electrolyte design of high-energy-density battery cathode materials.