Cathode for Lithium Secondary Batteries Coated with Metal-Organic Framework

Spinel Manganese-Based Cathode with Suppressed Manganese Dissolution via Conductive Cu3(HITP)2 MOF Coating

This technology is a cathode for lithium secondary batteries featuring a manganese-containing active material—specifically, a spinel-structured lithium manganese oxide (LMO)—coated with Cu3(HITP)2, a highly conductive porous metal-organic framework. The coating layer prevents direct contact between the electrolyte and the active material, thereby inhibiting the dissolution of manganese ions.

While spinel-structured lithium manganese oxide is cost-effective and offers excellent power characteristics, it suffers from structural instability at high temperatures, leading to manganese dissolution into the electrolyte. Combined with volume changes caused by Jahn-Teller distortion, this has historically resulted in a rapid decline in capacity and cycle life.

This technology utilizes rod-shaped Cu3(HITP)2 with a pore diameter of 1–3 nm (ideally about 2 nm) and a length of less than 1 μm, applied as a coating at 0.1–10 parts by weight relative to the cathode. The amino groups of the linker capture eluted transition metals to suppress manganese dissolution, while the high electrical conductivity of the MOF ensures that the coating does not significantly increase ion or electron transport resistance. Applicable to low-cost LMO-based EV and e-scooter batteries, high-power tool cells, and NCM-LMO blended cathodes, it secures high-temperature cycle stability without sacrificing rate performance, unlike insulating coatings.

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Key Features:

• A coating layer formed on the surface of a Mn-containing cathode active material, comprising the metal-organic framework Cu3(HITP)2
• A metal-organic framework included at 0.1 to 10 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the cathode
• A metal-organic framework with a rod-like structure, a pore diameter of 1 nm to 3 nm, and a length of less than 1 μm
• A cathode active material selected from LiNixCoyMnzO2, LiMn2O4, and Li2MnO3, capable of having a spinel structure

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This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT for the development of high-performance aqueous zinc-ion battery systems.

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