Cathode active material and manufacturing method thereof

Nickel-based cathode material with controlled primary particle formation rate and Ni/Li cation mixing via precursor particle size regulation

This technology optimizes the formation rate and uniformity of primary particles, the level of nickel/lithium cation mixing within the crystal structure, and overall structural stability during heat treatment by controlling the size of cathode active material precursor particles.

Conventional cathode active materials have suffered from structural instability, poor rate capability, and degraded cycle life over repeated charge-discharge cycles. Furthermore, inconsistent precursor sizes have limited particle density and crystallinity.

This technology regulates nickel precursor particle size between 8μm and 16μm, while optimizing oxygen partial pressure (0.3–1.0 L/min) and the lithium source molar ratio (1:1.01–1.05) to achieve a layered structure with an I003/I104 peak ratio exceeding 1.74. Applicable to high-nickel NCM/NCA mass production lines, high-capacity EV cells, and co-precipitation reactor design, it allows for pre-designing crystal quality post-calcination simply by adjusting precursor-stage variables like stirring speed.

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Key Features:

• Co-precipitating a nickel-containing precursor source, a reducing agent, and a pH adjuster in a reactor to produce precursor particles
• Mixing the precursor particles with a lithium source and heat-treating them to obtain a cathode active material composed of aggregated primary particles
• Regulating particle size to accelerate the formation rate of primary particles during heat treatment as the precursor size decreases
• Controlling oxygen partial pressure between 0.3 L/min and 1.0 L/min to ensure an I003/I104 ratio exceeding 1.74 during heat treatment

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This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT for the discovery and investigation of new photoelectrochemical phenomena: controlling photoelectrochemical behavior through interface engineering.

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