Utilizing the Intrinsic Thermal Instability of Swedenborgite Structured YBaCo4O7+δ as an Opportunity for Material Engineering in Lithium-Ion Batteries by Er and Ga Co-Doping Processes

Abstract

We firstly introduce Er and Ga co-doped swedenborgite-structured YBaCo4O7+δ (YBC) as a cathode-active material in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), aiming at converting the phase instability of YBC at high temperatures into a strategic way of enhancing the structural stability of layered cathode-active materials. Our recent publication reported that Y0.8Er0.2BaCo3.2Ga0.8O7+δ (YEBCG) showed excellent phase stability compared to YBC in a fuel cell operating condition. By contrast, the feasibility of the LiCoO2 (LCO) phase, which is derived from swedenborgite-structured YBC-based materials, as a LIB cathode-active material is investigated and the effects of co-doping with the Er and Ga ions on the structural and electrochemical properties of Li-intercalated YBC are systemically studied. The intrinsic swedenborgite structure of YBC-based materials with tetrahedrally coordinated Co2+/Co3+ are partially transformed into octahedrally coordinated Co3+, resulting in the formation of an LCO layered structure with a space group of R-3m that can work as a Li-ion migration path. Li-intercalated YEBCG (Li[YEBCG]) shows effective suppression of structural phase transition during cycling, leading to the enhancement of LIB performance in Coulombic efficiency, capacity retention, and rate capability. The galvanostatic intermittent titration technique, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy are performed to elucidate the enhanced phase stability of Li[YEBCG].