Cathode active material

Example

See it in the plant

1. Balance the recipe: NMC 622 is LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2. Of the elements that must come from the loop, Mn runs out first, so it sets the batch: 7942 kg.
2. Co-precipitate: the nickel, cobalt and manganese sulfates are dissolved and precipitated together as a mixed hydroxide precursor, with ammonia controlling particle growth.
3. Top up: 70.3 kg of Li is bought virgin, which lowers the recycled content of Li.
4. Fire: the mixture is fired in ceramic trays and it becomes NMC622 cathode, with recycled content Li 88%, Ni 100%, Co 100%, Mn 100%.

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Active material

The part of an electrode that actually stores lithium — graphite on the negative side, an oxide or phosphate on the positive. It makes up most of the electrode coating; the rest is binder and conductive additive.

LFP

A positive electrode material, LiFePO₄, giving cells a nominal voltage around 3.2 V, long cycle life and good thermal stability, but less energy per kilogram than nickel-rich oxides. Its flat voltage curve makes state of charge hard to read from voltage alone.

NMC

A family of layered-oxide positive electrode materials, LiNiₓMnᵧCo₁₋ₓ₋ᵧO₂, used in many electric-vehicle cells. Variants are named by their metal ratio: NMC811 has eight parts nickel to one each of manganese and cobalt.

Precursor cathode active material

The mixed nickel–manganese–cobalt hydroxide made by co-precipitation from metal sulfate solutions, before lithium is added. Its particle size and shape are set here and carried through to the finished NMC powder.

Specific capacity

Charge stored per gram of active material, in mAh/g. It is the figure materials scientists quote: about 150–200 mAh/g for layered oxides, 160 for LFP, 372 theoretical for graphite and about 3600 for silicon.

References & further reading

Technical references

1. A reflection on lithium-ion battery cathode chemistry

   Arumugam Manthiram · Nature Communications · 2020

   Technical reference · Layered oxides, spinels and polyanion cathodes; links between composition, structure and performance.

Further reading on this topic

These sources provide broader context; they are not presented as citations for every statement in this entry.

2. DOE Explains… Batteries

   U.S. Department of Energy

   Topic background · Introductory account of electrodes, electrolyte and conversion between chemical and electrical energy.

3. Current and future lithium-ion battery manufacturing

   Yangtao Liu, Ruihan Zhang, Jun Wang, Yan Wang · iScience · 2021

   Topic background · Electrode preparation, cell assembly, formation and manufacturing trade-offs.