High energy density and micrometer-sized d0-free disordered rocksalt cathodes

Abstract

The rapidly increasing demand for Li-ion batteries motivates the search for low-cost cathode materials free of critical metals, and with a high energy density and stable cycling performance. Disordered rocksalt oxide (DRX) cathodes derived from abundant metals are particularly promising as they can achieve higher energy densities than commercial, Ni- and/or Co-containing cathodes. However, their further development is hindered by the requirement for a redox-inactive "d0" transition metal to stabilize the disordered structure, and particle nanosizing to achieve appreciable capacity, limiting their energy density and cycle life. We report a new class of d0-free DRX cathodes realized through synthetic control of atomic disorder. Impressively, the removal of d0 species enables a micrometer-sized manganese-based DRX cathode to achieve a high capacity (220 mAh g-1) while extending its cycle life by more than 3x. The discovery of d0-free DRX opens a large, unexplored compositional space and represents a significant step toward the commercialization of inexpensive and Earth-abundant Li-ion cathodes.

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Mar 2025
Accepted
26 Aug 2025
First published
27 Aug 2025

Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript

High energy density and micrometer-sized d0-free disordered rocksalt cathodes

V. Wu, E. Lawrence, T. Li, E. Bassey, C. Chang, B. J. Hwang, P. Cabelguen and R. Clément, Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript , DOI: 10.1039/D5EE01564B

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