Understanding the effect of the Succinonitrile additive and the electrode processing to enhance the performance of high voltage lithium-ion batteries using LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cathode

The progressive improvement of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) leads to subsequent electrolyte design and electrode modification processes. The spinel lithium nickel manganese oxide (LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4, LNMO) is one of the potential candidates for the next generation of LIBs applied for electric vehicles due to its high working potential (4.75 V vs. Li+/Li), reasonable price, and environmental friendliness. Nevertheless, the degradation of cycling performance at high potential induces massive challenges for LNMO-based batteries commercialization. This study investigated the impact of Succinonitrile (SN) and electrode processing to strengthen and maximize the LNMO electrode and graphite||LNMO full-cell performance. According to the performance in half-cell, the sample contained 85 wt.% LNMO: 7.5 wt.% C65: 7.5 wt.% PVDF/NMP combining with the electrolyte 1.5 M LiPF6 in EC: EMC: DMC (2:1:7 – v/v) at 0.5 wt.% SN seems to be the optimal condition for further full-cell. Indeed, the promising full-cell with N/P=1.3 displays a remarkable initial capacity of 118.75 mAh.g-1 with a Coulombic efficiency of 91.64%. Moreover, it maintains a capacity retention of around 58% at the current density of 0.1C after 100 cycles.