The choice of cathode material directly determines the performance of the battery. Because cathode materials have a significant impact on battery performance, many researchers are dedicated to developing cathode materials with higher performance, such as lithium nickel oxide, lithium cobalt oxide, and lithium titanate.
1. Lithium Nickel Oxide. The main representative of lithium nickel oxide is lithium nickel oxide. Its product characteristics are similar to those of nickel cobalt oxide, but its price is lower. Due to its high energy density, which can reach 274 mAh/g, it is a relatively ideal high-energy-density lithium-ion battery cathode material. However, it is difficult to prepare, has poor safety performance, and has a relatively low cycle life. Therefore, there are not many manufacturers currently using lithium nickel oxide as a cathode material for lithium-ion batteries.
2. Lithium cobalt oxide. Lithium cobalt oxide is currently the most successful and widely used cathode material in commercially available lithium-ion batteries. The main representative is lithium cobalt oxide, which has five high characteristics: high energy density, high price, high power, high commercialization level, and high cycle life. However, its shortcomings are also obvious: my country suffers from a severe shortage of cobalt salts and needs to import them.
3. Lithium Titanium Oxide. A typical example of lithium titanium oxide is lithium titanate, in which Zhuhai Yinlong dominates the market. The advantage of lithium titanate is fast charging, while its disadvantage is low energy density, requiring charging after a period of use. Another advantage is safety, and a third is its ability to cycle up to 20,000 times. However, its poor conductivity makes it unsuitable for high-current charging and discharging, hindering practical applications. It has only recently begun to receive attention.
4. Nickel-cobalt multi-element oxides. These are the multi-element oxides we commonly refer to. Currently, the most common are lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide (LCM) and lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (LCA). LCM is further divided into LCM 111, LCM 523, LCM 622, and LCM 811. However, LCM is less common; this technology is mostly supplied by Panasonic to Tesla, with a LCM ratio of 0.8:0.15:0.05. In general, nickel-cobalt multi-element oxides are suitable for various existing lithium-ion battery applications and have the potential to replace other existing cathode materials.
5. Lithium manganese oxides. The main representatives of lithium manganese oxides are lithium manganese oxide and lithium permanganate. Resources are relatively abundant in my country, and these products are currently a hot research topic. Advantages include high energy density, no pollution, and good safety performance. Disadvantages include a tendency for the crystal form to transform into a spinel structure during cycling, leading to a decrease in specific capacity. Current methods to improve their electrochemical performance include doping and the synthesis of composite materials.
6. Lithium iron phosphate oxide. The main representative of lithium iron phosphate oxide is lithium iron phosphate. Its products have balanced performance in all aspects, are non-toxic and pollution-free, and have a cycle life of no less than 2,000 times. When used as a power source for passenger vehicles, its safety performance is at a high level.
