Zonghao Shen

Imperial College London | Imperial · Department of Materials

The capacity retention of commercially-sourced pouch cells with single crystal Al surface-doped Ni-rich cathodes (LiNi0.834Mn0.095Co0.071O2) is examined. The degradation-induced capacity fade becomes more pronounced as the upper-cut-off voltage (UCV) increases from 4.2 V to 4.3 V (vs. graphite) at a fixed cycling temperature (either 25 or 40 °C). H...

Challenges associated with in-service mechanical degradation of Li-ion battery cathodes has prompted a transition from polycrystalline to single crystal cathode materials. Whilst for single crystal materials, dislocation-assisted crack formation is assumed to be the dominating failure mechanism throughout battery life, there is little direct inform...

Correction for ‘The role of ion solvation in lithium mediated nitrogen reduction’ by O. Westhead et al. , J. Mater. Chem. A , 2023, https://doi.org/10.1039/D2TA07686A.

The effect of operating conditions on the surface composition and evolution of (La 0.8 Sr 0.2 ) 0.95 Cr 0.5 Fe 0.5 O 3-δ (LSCrF8255) as a model perovskite oxide was investigated. LSCrF8255 pellets were annealed under dry oxygen (pO 2 =...

Since its verification in 2019, there have been numerous high-profile papers reporting improved efficiency of lithium-mediated electrochemical nitrogen reduction to make ammonia. However, the literature lacks any coherent investigation systematically linking bulk electrolyte properties to electrochemical performance and Solid Electrolyte Interphase...

The capacity retention of modified single crystal Ni-rich cathodes (LiNi0.83Mn0.09Co0.07O2) within industry-like pouch cells is examined. Degradation induced capacity fade becomes more pronounced as the voltage is increased from 4.2 V to 4.3 V (vs. graphite). However, increasing the cycling temperature to 40 °C from 25 °C is found to improve the av...

The lithium-mediated method of electrochemical nitrogen reduction, pioneered by Tsuneto et al ¹ then verified by Andersen et al ² , is currently the sole paradigm capable of unequivocal electrochemical ammonia synthesis. Such a system could allow the production of green, distributed ammonia for use as fertiliser or a carbon-free fuel. However, desp...

Since its verification in just 2019, there have been numerous high-profile papers reporting improved efficiency of the lithium-mediated electrochemical nitrogen reduction system to make ammonia. However, the literature lacks a cohesive investigation systematically linking bulk electrolyte properties to electrochemical performance and Solid Electrol...

Performance improvements in electric vehicle batteries are needed in order to reduce their cost and encourage greater use. ¹ This improvement is dependent on the properties (e.g. specific capacity and stability) of the cathode active material in the electric vehicle’s lithium ion battery. ¹ Lithium Nickel Cobalt Manganese Oxide (NMC) is a layered t...

Invited for this month's cover picture is the group of Dr B. Layla Mehdi from the University of Liverpool. The cover picture demonstrates the impact of Al impurities on the nickel‐rich NMC cathodes. This observation of increased Al content can bring new insights into the ongoing discussions concerning the capacity fading phenomenon of nickel‐rich l...

The Front Cover demonstrates the impact of Al impurities on the nickel‐rich NMC cathodes. This observation of increased Al content can bring new insights into the ongoing discussions concerning the capacity fading phenomenon of nickel‐rich layered oxide materials in lithium‐ion batteries. More information can be found in the Article by B. L. Mehdi...

“Anode-free” batteries present a significant advantage due to their substantially higher energy density and ease of assembly in a dry air atmosphere. However, issues involving lithium dendrite growth and low cycling Coulombic efficiencies during operation remain to be solved. Solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation on Cu and its effect on Li p...

A major challenge for lithium‐ion batteries based on nickel‐rich layered oxide cathodes is capacity fading. While chemo‐mechanical degradation and/or structural transformation are widely considered responsible for degradation, a comprehensive understanding of this process is still not complete. For the stable performance of these cathode materials,...

‘Anode-free’ batteries present a significant advantage due to their substantially higher energy density and ease of assembly in a dry air atmosphere. However, potential safety issues due to lithium (Li) dendrite growth rather than smooth Li metal plating on the Cu current collector, and low cycling coulombic efficiency during their operation are de...

div>‘Anode-free’ batteries present a significant advantage due to their substantially higher energy density and ease of assembly in a dry air atmosphere. However, potential safety issues due to lithium (Li) dendrite growth rather than smooth Li metal plating on the Cu current collector, and low cycling coulombic efficiency during their operation ar...

For the mechanisms by which the oxygen corporates in a dual-phase composite system, three hypotheses i.e. cation inter-diffusion, spillover type and self-cleaning of the perovskite-structured phase, have been provided in literature. However, experimentally consensus on the most likely mechanism has yet to be reached. In this work, a specially fused...

Electrical and oxygen ion transport in the dual-phase composite systems (La0.8Sr0.2)0.95CrxFe1-xO3-δ (LSCrF) (x = 0.3, 0.5, 0.7)-10mol% Sc2O3-1mol% CeO2-89mol% ZrO2 (10Sc1CeSZ) have been investigated. In these three (x = 0.3, 0.5, 0.7) dual-phase systems, the pure ionic conductor 10Sc1CeSZ, dominates the oxygen bulk diffusion while the mixed electr...

Lanthanum strontium chromite ferrite ((La0.8Sr0.2)0.95CrxFe1-xO3-δ, LSCrF) pellets with 5% A-site deficiency were fabricated and the electrical conductivity and oxygen diffusion behaviour with different Cr substitution levels (x = 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.8) were investigated. As the Cr content increased, the electrical conductivity firstly increased an...

Materials for membrane reactors must possess both high ionic and electronic conductivity as well as good stability over a wide range of oxygen partial pressure. In order to improve the oxygen diffusion, substituting elements is an approach commonly adopted to increase vacancy concentration, but it may also reduce the chemical stability of the membr...