However, the LiNi 1-x-y Co x Mn y O 2 (1 − x − y > 0.9) commercialization is hindered, because it suffers from serious structural instability in the long-term cycling due to the crack formation, structure degradation, and cathode-electrolyte interface film formation. [8][9][10] Notably, both the structure formation during calcination and the structure change during attenuation were directly related to the properties for NCM cathodes. [11,12] Currently, much efforts have been done on the structure evolution in the formation (high-temperature lithiation reaction) and degradation (charging/discharging) of NCM cathodes. For NCM formation, Wang and coworkers revealed that the structure change was actually a topological phase transformation process during the high-temperature lithiation of LiNi 0.77 Co 0.1 Mn 0.13 O 2 and involved multiple phase transformations. [1,[13][14][15] For NCM degradation, the loss of active elements, cation migration, and the lattice stress caused by Li + (de)intercalation led to the destruction of the layered structure and the sharp decay of performance during the charging/discharging. [16][17][18][19][20]
Structure reconstruction induced by the migration ofLi, O, and transition metal (TM) ions plays a key role in the performance of Ni-based cathodes, yet their interactions are still poorly understood. This work investigates systematically the structure transformation of the high-temperature lithiation in air and oxygen rich atmosphere, charging process, and long-term storage. Structural and electrochemical characterization of Li-free/Li-containing phases (Ni 0.92 Co 0.04 Mn 0.04 (OH) 2 and Li x Ni 0.92 Co 0.04 Mn 0.04 O y ) and a series of detailed analyses provide an in-depth understanding of the structural reconstruction induced by the interaction of Li, O, and TM ions, i.e., the shift of Li/TM ions in the lattice leads to structural reconstruction via a layered structure with oxygen vacancies.