Nickel-rich lithium metal oxide cathode materials have recently be en highlighted as next-generation cathodes for lithium-ion batteries. Nevertheless, their relatively high surface reactivity must be controlled, as fading of the cycling retention occurs rapidly in the cells. This paper proposes functionalized nickel-rich lithium metal oxide cathode materials by a multipurpose nanosized inorganic materialtitanium silicon oxidevia a simple thermal treatment process. We examined the topologies of the nano-titanium silicate-functionalized nickel-rich lithium metal oxide cathodes with scanning electron microscopy and quantitatively analyzed their improved mechanical properties using microindentation. The cell containing nickel-rich lithium metal oxide cathodes suffered from poor cycling behavior as the electrolytes persistently decomposed; however, this behavior was effectively inhibited in the cell by nano-titanium silicate-functionalized nickel-rich lithium metal oxide cathodes. Further ex situ analyses indicated that the particle hardness of the nano-titanium silicate-functionalized nickel-rich lithium metal oxide cathode materials was maintained, and decomposition of the electrolyte by the dissolution of transition metals was thoroughly inhibited even after 100 cycles. Based on these results, we concluded that the use of nano-titanium silicate as a coating material for nickel-rich lithium metal oxide cathode materials is an effective way to enhance the cycling performance of lithium-ion batteries.

Radical‐scavenging Al2O3‐tris(2,4,6‐trimethylphenyl) phosphine (TMPP)‐functionalized polyethylene (PE) separator is modified by preparation of the Al2O3‐TMPP composites and embedding them onto the PE separator by dip‐coating process. Scanning electron microscopy, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy analyses indicate that Al2O3‐TMPP is well coated onto the PE separator. The Al2O3‐TMPP‐embedded PE separator exhibits a lower contact angle and higher electrolyte uptake than the bare PE separator, indicating a more hydrophilic surface is developed in the Al2O3‐TMPP‐embedded PE separator. The cell cycled with the Al2O3‐TMPP‐embedded PE separator exhibits stable cycling behavior after 150 cycles at high temperature (59.8%) while the cell cycled with a bare PE separator shows a continuous decrease in cycling retention (47.1%). The use of the Al2O3‐TMPP‐embedded PE separator is therefore an effective way to improve the cell cycling retention because it can effectively lower the radical concentration via a chemical scavenging process.

We propose a novel approach for incorporating a polymer electrolyte into lithium-ion batteries by employing a prepolymer electrolyte (PPE). The PPE consists of a conventional carbonate-based electrolyte that also contains 2-(trimethylsilyloxy)ethyl methacrylate (TSEMA) as a monomer and 2,2'azobis(2-methylpropionitrile) (AIBN) as an initiator; this combination can form a gel-type polymer electrolyte after being subjected to an aging process. The results confirm that aging the PPE at 45°C leads to the successful formation of a gel-type polymer in the cell through an in-situ polymerization reaction. The in-situ-formed gel-type polymer electrolyte demonstrates relatively low ionic conductivity compared to conventional electrolytes, but it can still be used in lithium-ion batteries, since an ionic network is well developed on the electrode. The combination of lithium titanium oxide anode materials and this in-situ-formed gel-type polymer electrolyte is compatible with high temperatures, as the cell cycled with the methacrylatebased in-situ-formed electrolyte exhibits stable cycling retention after 50 cycles.

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