La doping and coating enabled by one-step method for high performance Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 Li-rich cathode

The poor cycle performance and rate capability limit the wide application of lithium-rich cathode materials. Herein, we propose a one-step method for 'La3+' doping and LaMnO3 coating by co-precipitation to improve the electrochemical performance of the Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2. XRD, EDS of the cross section, and TEM successfully confirm that 'La3+' is doped into the material structure and LaMnO3 is uniformly coated on the surface of Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2. The Li1.2Mn0.54-xNi0.13Co0.13LaxO2 (x = 0.03) (abbreviated as LR-NMC@0.03) sample delivers a discharge capacity as high as 248.1 mAh g−1 at 1C compared with that of 212.3 mAh g−1 for the pristine sample. More importantly, the capacity retention for the LR-NMC@0.03 sample after 100 cycles can reach 92.5%, which is significantly higher than that of 76.8% for the pristine sample. The better rate capability and cyclic performance of the LR-NMC@0.03 sample are attributed to the double strengthening effect by both the 'La3+' doping and LaMnO3 coating with better host structural and surface stability.