Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxides (abbreviated NMC, Li-NMC, LNMC, or NCM) are mixed metal oxides of lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt with the general formula LiNixMnyCo1-x-yO2. These materials are commonly used in lithium-ion batteries for mobile devices and electric vehicles, acting as the positively charged cathode.
There is a particular interest in optimizing NMC for electric vehicle applications because of the material's high energy density and operating voltage. Reducing the cobalt content in NMC is also a current target, owing to ethical issues with cobalt mining and the metal's high cost. [1] Furthermore, an increased nickel content provides more capacity within the stable operation window. [2]
NMC materials have layered structures similar to the individual metal oxide compound lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2). [3] Lithium ions intercalate between the layers upon discharging, remaining between the lattice planes until the battery gets charged, at which point the lithium de-intercalates and moves to the anode. [4]
Points in a solid solution phase diagram between the end members LiCoO2, LiMnO2, and LiNiO2 represent stoichiometric NMC cathodes. [5] Three numbers immediately following the NMC abbreviation indicate the relative stoichiometry of the three defining metals. For example, an NMC molar composition of 33% nickel, 33% manganese, and 33% cobalt would abbreviate to NMC111 (also NMC333 or NCM333) and have a chemical formula of LiNi 0.33Mn0.33Co 0.33O2. A composition of 50% nickel, 30% manganese, and 20% cobalt would be called NMC532 (or NCM523) and have the formula LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2. Other common compositions are NMC622 and NMC811. [4] The general lithium content typically remains around 1:1 with the total transition metal content, with commercial NMC samples usually containing less than 5% excess lithium. [6] [7]
For NMC111, the ideal oxidation states for charge distribution are Mn4+, Co3+, and Ni2+. Cobalt and nickel oxidize partially to Co4+ and Ni4+ during charging, while Mn4+ remains inactive and maintains structural stability. [8] Modifying the transition metal stoichiometry changes the material's properties, providing a way to adjust cathode performance. [3] Most notably, increasing the nickel content in NMC increases its initial discharge capacity, but lowers its thermal stability and capacity retention. Increasing cobalt content comes at the cost of replacing either higher-energy nickel or chemically stable manganese while also being expensive. Oxygen can generate from the metal oxide at 300 °C when fully discharged, degrading the lattice. Higher nickel content decreases the oxygen generation temperature while also increasing the heat generation during battery operation. [3] Cation mixing, a process in which Li+ substitutes Ni2+ ions in the lattice, increases as nickel concentration increases as well. [9] The similar size of Ni2+ (0.69 Å) and Li+ (0.76 Å) facilitates cation mixing. Displacing nickel from the layered structure can alter the material's bonding characteristics, forming undesirable phases and lowering its capacity. [10] [11]
The crystallinity, particle size distribution, morphology, and composition all affect the performance of NMC materials, and these parameters can be tuned by using different synthesis methods. [4] [12] The first report of nickel manganese cobalt oxide used a coprecipitation method, [13] which is still commonly used today. [14] This method involves dissolving the desired amount of metal precursors together and then drying them to remove the solvent. This material is then blended with a lithium source and heated to temperatures up to 900 °C under oxygen in a process called calcination. Hydroxides, oxalic acid, and carbonates are the most common coprecipitation agents. [14]
Sol-gel methods are another common NMC synthesis method. In this method, transition metal precursors are dissolved in a nitrate or acetate solution, then combined with a lithium nitrate or lithium acetate and citric acid solution. This mixture is stirred and heated to about 80 °C under basic conditions until a viscous gel forms. The gel is dried at around 120 °C and calcined twice, once at 450 °C and again at 800-900 °C, to obtain NMC material. [12]
Hydrothermal treatment can be paired with either the coprecipitation or sol-gel routes. It involves heating the coprecipitate or gel precursors in an autoclave. The treated precursors are then filtered off and calcined normally. Hydrothermal treatments before calcination improves the crystallinity of NMC, which increases the material's performance in cells. However, this comes at the cost of longer material processing times. [12]
NMC cathode materials are historically related to John B. Goodenough's 1980s work on lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2), [15] and can be represented as an intergrowth between a layered NaFeO2-type oxide and a closely related lithium rich Li2MnO3 oxide whose amount is related to the initial lithium excess. The first report of Li-rich NMCs was by Zhaolin Liu et. al. from the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering in Singapore in 1999. [13] Further reports of the work of Li-rich NCM cathode material(s) were reported ca. 2000–2001 independently by four research teams:
As of 2023, the biggest producers of NMC materials include EcoPro, [21] Ronbay Technology, [22] Easpring and Umicore. [23]
The cell voltage of lithium-ion batteries with NMC cathodes is 3.6–3.7 V. [24]
Arumugam Manthiram has reported that the relative positioning of the metals' 3d bands to the oxygen 2p band leads to each metal's role within NMC cathode materials. The manganese 3d band is above the oxygen 2p band, resulting in manganese's high chemical stability. The cobalt and nickel 3d bands overlap the oxygen 2p band, allowing them to charge to their 4+ oxidation states without the oxygen ions losing electron density. [25]
Many electric cars use NMC cathode batteries. NMC batteries were installed in the BMW ActiveE in 2011, and in the BMW i8 starting from 2013. [26] Other electric cars with NMC batteries include, as of 2020: Audi e-tron GE, BAIC EU5 R550, BMW i3, BYD Yuan EV535, Chevrolet Bolt, Hyundai Kona Electric, Jaguar I-Pace, Jiangling Motors JMC E200L, NIO ES6, Nissan Leaf S Plus, Renault ZOE, Roewe Ei5, VW e-Golf and VW ID.3. [27] Only a few electric car manufacturers do not use NMC cathodes in their traction batteries. Tesla is a significant exception, as they use nickel cobalt aluminium oxide and lithium iron phosphate batteries for their vehicles. In 2015, Elon Musk reported that the home storage Tesla Powerwall is based on NMC in order to increase the number of charge/discharge cycles over the life of the units. [27]
Mobile electronics such as mobile phones/smartphones, laptops, and pedelecs can also use NMC-based batteries. [28] These applications almost exclusively used lithium cobalt oxide batteries previously. [29] Another application of NMC batteries is battery storage power stations. Two such storage systems were installed in Korea in 2016 with a combined capacity of 15 MWh. [30] In 2017, a 35 MW NMC battery with a capacity of 11 MWh was installed and commissioned in Newman in the Australian state of Western Australia. [31] [32]
An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit. Electrodes are essential parts of batteries that can consist of a variety of materials (chemicals) depending on the type of battery.
A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically conducting solids to store energy. In comparison with other commercial rechargeable batteries, Li-ion batteries are characterized by higher specific energy, higher energy density, higher energy efficiency, a longer cycle life, and a longer calendar life. Also noteworthy is a dramatic improvement in lithium-ion battery properties after their market introduction in 1991: over the following 30 years, their volumetric energy density increased threefold while their cost dropped tenfold.
The lithium iron phosphate battery or LFP battery is a type of lithium-ion battery using lithium iron phosphate as the cathode material, and a graphitic carbon electrode with a metallic backing as the anode. Because of their low cost, high safety, low toxicity, long cycle life and other factors, LFP batteries are finding a number of roles in vehicle use, utility-scale stationary applications, and backup power. LFP batteries are cobalt-free. As of September 2022, LFP type battery market share for EVs reached 31%, and of that, 68% were from EV makers Tesla and BYD alone. Chinese manufacturers currently hold a near monopoly of LFP battery type production. With patents having started to expire in 2022 and the increased demand for cheaper EV batteries, LFP type production is expected to rise further and surpass lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxides (NMC) type batteries in 2028.
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Lithium iron phosphate or lithium ferro-phosphate (LFP) is an inorganic compound with the formula LiFePO
4. It is a gray, red-grey, brown or black solid that is insoluble in water. The material has attracted attention as a component of lithium iron phosphate batteries, a type of Li-ion battery. This battery chemistry is targeted for use in power tools, electric vehicles, solar energy installations and more recently large grid-scale energy storage.
Lithium cobalt oxide, sometimes called lithium cobaltate or lithium cobaltite, is a chemical compound with formula LiCoO
2. The cobalt atoms are formally in the +3 oxidation state, hence the IUPAC name lithium cobalt(III) oxide.
The lithium–air battery (Li–air) is a metal–air electrochemical cell or battery chemistry that uses oxidation of lithium at the anode and reduction of oxygen at the cathode to induce a current flow.
A metal–air electrochemical cell is an electrochemical cell that uses an anode made from pure metal and an external cathode of ambient air, typically with an aqueous or aprotic electrolyte.
Sodium-ion batteries (NIBs, SIBs, or Na-ion batteries) are several types of rechargeable batteries, which use sodium ions (Na+) as their charge carriers. In some cases, its working principle and cell construction are similar to those of lithium-ion battery (LIB) types, but it replaces lithium with sodium as the intercalating ion. Sodium belongs to the same group in the periodic table as lithium and thus has similar chemical properties. However, in some cases, such as aqueous batteries, SIBs can be quite different from LIBs.
A lithium ion manganese oxide battery (LMO) is a lithium-ion cell that uses manganese dioxide, MnO
2, as the cathode material. They function through the same intercalation/de-intercalation mechanism as other commercialized secondary battery technologies, such as LiCoO
2. Cathodes based on manganese-oxide components are earth-abundant, inexpensive, non-toxic, and provide better thermal stability.
Research in lithium-ion batteries has produced many proposed refinements of lithium-ion batteries. Areas of research interest have focused on improving energy density, safety, rate capability, cycle durability, flexibility, and reducing cost.
Magnesium batteries are batteries that utilize magnesium cations as charge carriers and possibly in the anode in electrochemical cells. Both non-rechargeable primary cell and rechargeable secondary cell chemistries have been investigated. Magnesium primary cell batteries have been commercialised and have found use as reserve and general use batteries.
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Calcium (ion) batteries are energy storage and delivery technologies (i.e., electro–chemical energy storage) that employ calcium ions (cations), Ca2+, as the active charge carrier. Calcium (ion) batteries remain an active area of research, with studies and work persisting in the discovery and development of electrodes and electrolytes that enable stable, long-term battery operation. Calcium batteries are rapidly emerging as a recognized alternative to Li-ion technology due to their similar performance, significantly greater abundance, and lower cost.
Khalil Amine is a materials scientist at Argonne National Laboratory, an Argonne distinguished fellow, and group leader of the Battery Technology group. His research team is focused on the development of advanced battery systems for transportation applications. In addition to his Argonne appointment, he is an adjunct professor at Stanford University, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, King Abdulaziz University, Hanyang University, and Peking University.
The lithium nickel cobalt aluminium oxides (abbreviated as Li-NCA, LNCA, or NCA) are a group of mixed metal oxides. Some of them are important due to their application in lithium ion batteries. NCAs are used as active material in the positive electrode (which is the cathode when the battery is discharged). NCAs are composed of the cations of the chemical elements lithium, nickel, cobalt and aluminium. The compounds of this class have a general formula LiNixCoyAlzO2 with x + y + z = 1. In case of the NCA comprising batteries currently available on the market, which are also used in electric cars and electric appliances, x ≈ 0.8, and the voltage of those batteries is between 3.6 V and 4.0 V, at a nominal voltage of 3.6 V or 3.7 V. A version of the oxides currently in use in 2019 is LiNi0.84Co0.12Al0.04O2.
Arumugam Manthiram is an Indian-American materials scientist and engineer, best known for his identification of the polyanion class of lithium-ion battery cathodes, understanding of how chemical instability limits the capacity of layered oxide cathodes, and technological advances in lithium sulfur batteries. He is a Cockrell Family Regents Chair in engineering, Director of the Texas Materials Institute, the Director of the Materials Science and Engineering Program at the University of Texas at Austin, and a former lecturer of Madurai Kamaraj University. Manthiram delivered the 2019 Nobel Lecture in Chemistry on behalf of Chemistry Laureate John B. Goodenough.
This is a history of the lithium-ion battery.
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