A team from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) – under the leadership of Professor Kyu-Young Park of the Graduate Institute of Ferrous & Eco Materials Technology – has made a significant advancement. Collaborating with POSCO Holdings N.EX.T Hub, they have successfully developed a single-crystal synthesis technology that greatly enhances the longevity of cathode materials used in electric vehicles.
This research was published in the online edition of ACS Materials & Interfaces, an international journal in the materials science field.
Lithium (Li) secondary batteries, commonly used in electric vehicles, store energy by converting electrical energy to chemical energy and generating electricity to release chemical energy to electrical energy through the movement of Li- ions between a cathode and an anode. These secondary batteries mainly use nickel (Ni) cathode materials due to their high lithium-ion storage capacity. Traditional nickel-based materials have a polycrystalline morphology composed of many tiny crystals that can undergo structural degradation during charging and discharging, significantly reducing their lifespan.
One approach to addressing this issue is to produce the cathode material in a “single-crystal” form. Creating nickel-based cathode materials as single large particles, or “single crystals,” can enhance their structural and chemical stability and durability. It is known that single-crystal materials are synthesized at high temperatures and become rigid. However, the exact process of hardening during synthesis and the specific conditions under which this occurs remains unclear.
