Synthesis and Theoretical Modeling of Suitable Co-precipitation Conditions for Producing NMC111 Cathode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC111) is considered to be one of the most promising cathode materials for commercial lithium-ion battery (LIB) fabrication. Among the various synthesis procedures of NMC111, hydroxide co-precipitation followed by lithiation is the most cost-effective and scalable method. Physical and chemical properties of the co-precipitation product such as yield, particle size, morphology, and tap density, depend upon the various reaction parameters, which include pH, chelating agents, metal salt concentrations, and stirring speed. As a consequence, detailed theoretical and experimental modeling is critically required to not only understand the interdependence between the particle properties and reaction conditions but also optimize these parameters. In this study, theoretical modeling was performed to analyze the role of various NH 4 OH concentrations with varying pH on the yield of the NMC(OH) 2 product. From the experimental findings, it was observed that the product obtained at a pH of 11.5 and NH 4 OH concentration of 0.02 M possessed the highest tap density. Three of the hydroxide precursors with different tap density values were chosen to lithiate and were applied for coin cell fabrication. The NMC(OH) 2 precursor with the highest tap density had the highest specific capacity of 155 mAh g −1 at 0.1 C and retained up to 78.6 mAh g −1 at 5 C. The variation of the Li + diffusion coefficient for the three selected materials was also studied using electrochemical impedance analysis.

Low-cobalt active cathode materials for high-performance lithium-ion batteries: synthesis and performance enhancement methods

“…Our group has recently performed theoretical modeling on the effect of NH 4 OH concentration and pH on the yield of NCM111 by the hydroxide co-precipitation method. 25 It was observed that the precursor synthesized at a pH of 11.8 and NH 4 OH concentration of 0.1 M had the highest tap density. The modeling of the co-precipitation process relies on the solution of the mass action equations for the reversible reactions of all components in the aqueous phase, including dissociation of primary process inputs and formation of hydroxide and ammonia complexes with each of the transition metals.…”

Investigating the Influence of Three Different Atmospheric Conditions during the Synthesis Process of NMC811 Cathode Material

“…In this approach, TM sulfates and lithium hydroxide were the starting materials. A stoichiometric quantity of TM sulfates (8:1:1) was selected and mixed with DI water to create a solution composed of NiSO4•6H2O 1.6 M, MnSO4•H2O 0.2 M, and CoSO4•7H2O 0.2 M [16]. An alkaline solution was prepared mixing 180 mL of DI water, 18 mL of NH4OH 1.5 M, and 0.333 mL of NaOH 4 M in a three-necked round flask.…”

Virtual Special Issue on New Energy Developments at IIT Roorkee, India

“…Different experimental and modeling approaches for thermal runaway (TR) detection along with the need for the development of a battery management system have been emphasized in this paper. Mugumya et al 7 performed theoretical modeling to determine suitable synthesis conditions for lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC111) cathode material through hydroxide co-precipitation. Experimental synthesis of the three metal hydroxide precursors with different tap densities using low ammonia concentrations to assess the theoretical model was undertaken.…”