Volume 64, Issue 28 e202501777
Research Article

Boosting Initial Coulombic Efficiency in Li-Rich Mn-based Cathodes by Tuning Orbital Hybridization

Tao Zeng

Tao Zeng

School of Advanced Materials, Peking University, Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055 China

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Ziqin Jiao

Ziqin Jiao

School of Advanced Materials, Peking University, Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055 China

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Xiaoyu Gao

Xiaoyu Gao

School of Advanced Materials, Peking University, Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055 China

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Maolin Yang

Maolin Yang

School of Advanced Materials, Peking University, Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055 China

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Xiaohu Wang

Xiaohu Wang

School of Advanced Materials, Peking University, Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055 China

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Wenguang Zhao

Wenguang Zhao

School of Advanced Materials, Peking University, Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055 China

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Wei Tang

Wei Tang

School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275 China

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Mihai Chu

Mihai Chu

Department of Chemistry Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Via Luigi Mancinelli, 7, Milan, 20131 Italy

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Ze He

Ze He

Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, 17 Charles Babbage Road, Cambridge, CB3 0FS UK

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Jinqi Li

Jinqi Li

School of Advanced Materials, Peking University, Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055 China

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Zhongyuan Huang

Zhongyuan Huang

School of Advanced Materials, Peking University, Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055 China

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Guojie Chen

Guojie Chen

School of Advanced Materials, Peking University, Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055 China

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Ziwei Chen

Ziwei Chen

School of Advanced Materials, Peking University, Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055 China

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Rui Wang

Corresponding Author

Rui Wang

Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, 17 Charles Babbage Road, Cambridge, CB3 0FS UK

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

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Liming Wang

Liming Wang

Spallation Neutron Source Science Center, Dongguan, 523803 China

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Junrong Zhang

Junrong Zhang

Spallation Neutron Source Science Center, Dongguan, 523803 China

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Lunhua He

Lunhua He

Spallation Neutron Source Science Center, Dongguan, 523803 China

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Yuguang Pu

Corresponding Author

Yuguang Pu

School of Advanced Materials, Peking University, Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055 China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

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Yinguo Xiao

Corresponding Author

Yinguo Xiao

School of Advanced Materials, Peking University, Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055 China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

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First published: 06 May 2025

Graphical Abstract

In this study, we investigated the potential of Li-rich manganese-based oxides as promising cathode materials for next-generation lithium-ion batteries, highlighting the critical challenges posed by low initial coulombic efficiency and irreversible oxygen release. We introduce a novel treatment method using Glyoxal, which facilitates the integration of transition metal 3d and oxygen 2p orbital hybridization, aimed at optimizing the electrochemical performance of LRMO. Our results demonstrate a significant improvement in ICE, increasing from 85.3% to 102.5%. Additionally, the treated LRMO achieves a high specific capacity of 291.2 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C, surpassing untreated samples, and exhibits excellent cycling stability with retention rates of 90.1% after 150 cycles and 76.5% after 250 cycles at 0.5 C.

Abstract

Li-rich manganese-based oxides (LRMO) are promising cathode materials for next-generation lithium-ion batteries due to their high-capacity and low-cost merits. However, the low initial coulombic efficiency (ICE) and irreversible oxygen release of LRMO severely hinder their commercialization processes. Here, we employ glyoxal treatment to modulate the hybridization between transition metal (TM) 3d and oxygen (O) 2p orbitals in LRMO. This approach is found to reduce the Co/Mn t2g-O 2p hybridization in LRMO while simultaneously activating the Co2+/Co3+ redox below the Fermi level. Our findings demonstrate that tuning TM 3d-O 2p orbital hybridization can be a viable approach to improve the ICE of LMRO. Specifically, the ICE of LRMO can be elevated from 85.3% to 102.5%, and a high specific capacity of 291.2 mAh g−1 can be achieved at 0.1 C. Moreover, the treated LRMO cathodes exhibit significantly enhanced capacity retention.

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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