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Surface coating of Na_2/3Ni_1/2Mn_2/3O₂particles suppresses high-voltage polarization but not capacity fade, which is dominated by bulk structure degradation. 

The surface of the layered transition metal oxide cathode plays an important role in its function and degradation. Modification of the surface structure and chemistry is often necessary to overcome the debilitating effect of the native surface. Here, we employ a chemical reduction method using CaI2 to modify the native surface of single-crystalline layered transition metal oxide cathode particles. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy shows the formation of a conformal cubic phase at the particle surface, where the outmost layer is enriched with Ca. The modified surface significantly improves the long-term capacity retention at low rates of cycling, yet the rate capability is compromised by the impeded interfacial kinetics at high voltages. The lack of oxygen vacancy generation in the chemically induced surface phase transformation likely results in a dense surface layer that accounts for the improved electrochemical stability and impeded Li-ion diffusion. This work highlights the strong dependence of the electrode’s (electro)chemical stability and intercalation kinetics on the surface structure and chemistry, which can be further tailored by the chemical reduction method. 

Over recent years, great efforts have been made to push the limits of layered transition metal oxides for secondary battery cathodes. This is particularly true for overall capacity, which has reached a terminal theoretical value for many materials. One avenue for increasing this capacity during charging is the intercalation of anions post cation deintercalation. This work investigates the charging mechanism of the P3-Na0.5Ni0.25 Mn0.75O2 cathode material through cation (Na) deintercalation and anion (ClO4) intercalation by means of density functional theory. The calculations corroborate experimental findings of increased capacity (135 mAh g-1 to 180 mAh g-1) through the intercalation of anions. However, this work demonstrates that a process of simultaneous cation deintercalation/anion intercalation is the primary charging mechanism, with charge compensation reactions of Ni2+/Ni4+ and O2-/O- occurring within the cathode material. To elucidate this simultaneous process, a novel method for computationally determining anion voltage in which one must consider full electrolyte interactions is proposed. Based on the results, it is believed that a simultaneous cation deintercalation/anion intercalation mechanism provides one potential avenue for the discovery of the next generation of secondary batteries.