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1. A review on synthesis and engineering of crystal precursors produced via coprecipitation for multicomponent lithium-ion battery cathode materials

   https://doi.org/10.1039/c9ce00679f  

   Dong, Hongxu; Koenig, Gary M. (March 2020, CrystEngComm)

   null (Ed.)

   Interest in developing high performance lithium-ion rechargeable batteries has motivated research in precise control over the composition, phase, and morphology during materials synthesis of battery active material particles for decades. Coprecipitation, as one of the most reported methods in the literature to produce precursors for lithium-ion battery active materials, has drawn attention due to its simplicity, scalability, homogeneous mixing at the atomic scale, and tunability over particle morphology. This highlight summarizes the advancements that have been made in producing crystalline particles of tunable and complex morphologies via coprecipitation for use as lithium-ion battery precursor materials. Comparison among different crystallization reagents, solution conditions that influence the properties of crystal particles, and the fundamental knowledge from equilibrium and/or kinetic study of the coprecipitation processes, are systematically discussed. The research reports and guiding principles summarized in this highlight are meant to improve selections made by researchers to efficiently determine synthesis conditions. In addition, it is desired that the methods applied from the study of crystallization will inspire researchers to pursue further investigation of the nucleation and growth mechanisms of these coprecipitation processes, which will be necessary to achieve truly predictive particle synthesis. 

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2. Ab initio study of olivine LiFePO4 doping by transition metals for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2025.118315  

   Lama, Bhubnesh; Smirnova, Alevtina L; Paudel, Tula R (October 2025, Journal of Energy Storage)

   The electronic and ionic conductivities of electrode materials play a vital role in battery performance. Emerging as a promising cathode material for Li-ion batteries, lithium iron phosphate (LFP) exhibits poor performance at cycling rates due to its low electronic and ionic conductivities. Increasing these conductivities is crucial for LFPbased cathode materials to be utilized in high-power density applications, such as hybrid and electric vehicles. Doping can significantly alter the conductivity of the material by modifying its crystal and electronic structures. However, these changes depend on the doping element. To identify the optimal dopants for enhancing overall electrochemical performance, we partially substitute iron atoms with 3d and 4d transition metals and, using firstprinciples density functional theory, assess the impact of doping on structural stability, thermodynamic stability, voltage, and electronic and ionic conductivity. Based on the selected screening criteria of increased ionic conductivity, enhanced voltage, high structural stability, and increased charge capacity, it was found that Ti, Y, and Zr are possible dopants for improving electrochemical performance. This study enables the design of doped LFPbased cathodes for high-performance next-generation energy storage devices through doping and the development of innovative strategies for co-doping, leveraging the synergistic effects of transition metal dopants. 

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3. Structural and Morphological Control of Spherical NFM333 Precursors for Na-Ion Batteries: A Comparative Study of Ammonia- and Citrate-Based Coprecipitation Routes

   https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/ae41e8  

   Promi, Anika Tabassum; Thornton, Daniel; Lin, Feng (February 2026, Journal of The Electrochemical Society)

   Morphology control is a key design parameter for sodium-ion layered oxide cathodes, yet achieving uniform precursors with balanced stoichiometry is more challenging than in lithium-ion systems due to the broader range of transition-metal chemistries involved. These complexities highlight the need for systematic comparisons of coprecipitation routes tailored to sodium-ion compositions. Here, we examine how ammonia- and citrate-based coprecipitation methods shape the morphology and composition of equimolar Ni–Fe–Mn hydroxide and oxyhydroxide precursors. We investigate how pH, ligand concentration, and temperature jointly influence precipitation onset, particle shape, and metal incorporation. In the ammonia system, precipitation proceeds readily between pH 10.5–11.5, with pH ≈ 11.0 yielding the most uniform morphology and target Ni:Fe:Mn ≈ 1:1:1 stoichiometry. Higher ammonia levels improve morphology but above ∼1.0 M begin to delay Ni incorporation and introduce phase separation. In contrast, the citrate system shows delayed precipitation (threshold pH ≈ 11.8) but forms dense granular microspheres with narrow size distributions across 0.1–0.6 M citrate, with Fe enrichment emerging at higher ligand concentrations. X-ray diffraction revealsβ-Ni(OH)₂-type hydroxides for ammonia-derived precursors andδ-FeOOH-type oxyhydroxides for citrate-derived ones. Together, these results provide practical guidance for tailoring precursor morphology and composition in Fe- and Mn-rich sodium-ion cathode materials. 

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4. Analysis of Direct Recycling Methods for Retired Lithium-ion Batteries from Electric Vehicles

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2023.02.118  

   Wang, Yu; Zhai, Qiang; Yuan, Chris (January 2023, Procedia CIRP)

   The rapid expansion of electric vehicle (EV) fleet calls for large number of lithium-ion batteries to be recycled at their end-of-life. Various recycling methods have been developed or under development to recover the high-value materials from retired lithium-ion batteries. Amongst these methods, direct recycling techniques have been developed and reported to recycle battery materials for reuse in new battery manufacturing since the electrochemical properties of the recycled materials can be fully recovered to the same level of pristine materials. In literature, innovative sintering processes have been developed to recover the composition and crystal structure of spent cathode materials; hydrothermal regeneration processes have been reported to regenerate the spent cathode materials in the solvents at a moderate temperature, followed by the high-temperature short annealing process. The regenerated cathode materials show the same specific capacity and cycling performance as those of pristine materials. The electrochemical regeneration method is applied to fully recover the electrochemical performance of cathode material with stable crystal structure. While the direct recycling techniques are still under development, their future applications in industry are still not clear. This study aims to classify and summarize state-of-the-art of the direct recycling methods, and evaluate the regenerated cathode materials’ performance and the application potential to be used for manufacturing of new lithium-ion batteries in future. The results will help increase understanding of the direct recycling technologies and facilitate the associated R&D for future industrial scaling-up of direct recycling processes for retired lithium ion batteries from electric vehicles. 

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5. Advancements and Challenges in High-Capacity Ni-Rich Cathode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

   https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17040801  

   Ahangari, Mehdi; Szalai, Benedek; Lujan, Josue; Zhou, Meng; Luo, Hongmei (February 2024, Materials)

   Nowadays, lithium-ion batteries are undoubtedly known as the most promising rechargeable batteries. However, these batteries face some big challenges, like not having enough energy and not lasting long enough, that should be addressed. Ternary Ni-rich Li[NixCoyMnz]O2 and Li[NixCoyAlz]O2 cathode materials stand as the ideal candidate for a cathode active material to achieve high capacity and energy density, low manufacturing cost, and high operating voltage. However, capacity gain from Ni enrichment is nullified by the concurrent fast capacity fading because of issues such as gas evolution, microcracks propagation and pulverization, phase transition, electrolyte decomposition, cation mixing, and dissolution of transition metals at high operating voltage, which hinders their commercialization. In order to tackle these problems, researchers conducted many strategies, including elemental doping, surface coating, and particle engineering. This review paper mainly talks about origins of problems and their mechanisms leading to electrochemical performance deterioration for Ni-rich cathode materials and modification approaches to address the problems. 

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