Easily Obtaining Excellent Performance High-voltage LiCoO2 via Pr6O11 Modification

Developing an effective method to synthesize high-performance high-voltage LiCoO2 is essential for its industrialization in lithium batteries (LIBs). This work proposes a simple mass-produced strategy for the first time, that is, negative temperature coefficient thermosensitive Pr6O11 nanoparticles are uniformly modified on LiCoO2 to prepare LiCoO2 @Pr6O11 (LCO@PrO) via a liquid-phase mixing combined with annealing method. Tested at 274 mA g(-1) the modified LCO@PrO electrodes deliver excellent 4.5 V high-voltage cycling performance with capacity retention ratios of 90.8% and 80.5% at 25 and 60 degrees C, being much larger than those of 22.8% and 63.2% for bare LCO electrodes. Several effective strategies were used to clearly unveil the performance enhancement mechanism induced by Pr6O11 modification. It is discovered that Pr6O11 can improve interface compatibility, exhibit improved conductivity at elevated temperature, thus enhance the Li+ diffusion kinetics, and suppress the phase transformation of LCO and its resulting mechanical stresses. The 450 mAh LCO@PrO parallel to graphite pouch cells show excellent LIB performance and improved thermal safety characteristics. Importantly, the energy density of such pouch cell was increased even by similar to 42% at 5 C. This extremely convenient technology is feasible for producing high-energy density LIBs with negligible cost increase, undoubtedly providing important academic inspiration for industrialization.