(382a) Slug-Flow Manufacturing of Uniform Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese Precursor Microcrystals for Battery Cathodes

The expanding demands for lithium-ion batteries in portable electronic devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets) and environmental-friendly vehicles (e.g., electric and hybrid vehicles) drive researchers to improve safety, extend battery life, increase charge capacity and reduce cost.^1-3 One of the most advanced material options is layered nickel-rich LiNi_xCo_yMn_zO₂ (NCMxyz) cathode.² The cathode material is a key cost driver in lithium-ion batteries, especially cobalt. Typical cost of NCM333 material is $25/kg, or $2,151/pack, or $160/KWh_Useable.⁴ Current batch synthesis methods for cathode materials can suffer from issues of poor mixing and non-uniformity. Driven by those problems, a slug flow based continuous manufacturing process⁵ was designed to increase the efficiency, reduce the cost improve the synthetic control and produce uniform low-cobalt NCMxyz microparticles towards enhanced performance control with better structural robustness for lithium-ion batteries.

References

(1) Noh, H.-J.; Youn, S.; Yoon, C. S.; Sun, Y.-K. Comparison of the Structural and Electrochemical Properties of Layered Li[Ni_xCo_yMn_z]O₂ (x = 1/3, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8 and 0.85) Cathode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries. J. Power Sources 2013, 233, 121–130.

(2) Schipper, F.; Erickson, E. M.; Erk, C.; Shin, J.-Y.; Chesneau, F. F.; Aurbach, D. Review—Recent Advances and Remaining Challenges for Lithium Ion Battery Cathodes. J. Electrochem. Soc. 2017, 164 (1), A6220–A6228.

(3) Wang, G.; Yi, L.; Yu, R.; Wang, X.; Wang, Y.; Liu, Z.; Wu, B.; Liu, M.; Zhang, X.; Yang, X.; et al. Li_1.2Ni_0.13Co_0.13Mn_0.54O₂ with Controllable Morphology and Size for High Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2017, 9 (30), 25358–25368.

(4) Ahmed, S.; Nelson, P. A.; Gallagher, K. G.; Susarla, N.; Dees, D. W. Cost and Energy Demand of Producing Nickel Manganese Cobalt Cathode Material for Lithium Ion Batteries. J. Power Sources 2017, 342, 733–740.

(5) Jiang, M.; Braatz, R. D. Designs of Continuous-Flow Pharmaceutical Crystallizers: Developments and Practice. CrystEngComm 2019, 21, 3534–3551.