The intercalation of lithium ions into graphite electrode is the key underlying mechanism of modern lithium-ion batteries. However, co-intercalation of lithium-ions and solvent into graphite is considered undesirable because it can trigger the exfoliation of graphene layers and destroy the graphite crystal, resulting in poor cycle life. Here, it is demonstrated that the [lithium–solvent]+ intercalation does not necessarily cause exfoliation of the graphite electrode and can be remarkably reversible with appropriate solvent selection. First-principles calculations suggest that the chemical compatibility of the graphite host and [lithium–solvent]+ complex ion strongly affects the reversibility of the co-intercalation, and comparative experiments confirm this phenomenon. Moreover, it is revealed that [lithium–ether]+ co-intercalation of natural graphite electrode enables much higher power capability than normal lithium intercalation, without the risk of lithium metal plating, with retention of ≈87% of the theoretical capacity at current density of 1 A g−1. This unusual high rate capability of the co-intercalation is attributed to the (i) absence of the desolvation step, (ii) negligible formation of the solid–electrolyte interphase on graphite surface, and (iii) fast charge-transfer kinetics. This work constitutes the first step toward the utilization of fast and reversible [lithium–solvent]+ complex ion intercalation chemistry in graphite for rechargeable battery technology.

Cobalt-free layered lithium-rich nickel manganese oxides, Li[LixNiyMn1−x−y]O2 (LLNMO), are promising positive electrode materials for lithium rechargeable batteries because of their high energy density and low materials cost. However, substantial voltage decay is inevitable upon electrochemical cycling, which makes this class of materials less practical. It has been proposed that undesirable voltage decay is linked to irreversible structural rearrangement involving irreversible oxygen loss and cation migration. Herein, the authors demonstrate that the voltage decay of the electrode is correlated to Mn4+/Mn3+ redox activation and subsequent cation disordering, which can be remarkably suppressed via simple compositional tuning to induce the formation of Ni3+ in the pristine material. By implementing our new strategy, the Mn4+/Mn3+ reduction is subdued by an alternative redox reaction involving the use of pristine Ni3+ as a redox buffer, which has been designed to be widened from Ni3+/Ni4+ to Ni2+/Ni4+, without compensation for the capacity in principle. Negligible change in the voltage profile of modified LLNMO is observed upon extended cycling, and manganese migration into the lithium layer is significantly suppressed. Based on these findings, we propose a general strategy to suppress the voltage decay of Mn-containing lithium-rich oxides to achieve long-lasting high energy density from this class of materials.

Despite the high energy density of lithium-rich layered-oxide electrodes, their real-world implementation in batteries is hindered by the substantial voltage decay on cycling. This voltage decay is widely accepted to mainly originate from progressive structural rearrangements involving irreversible transition-metal migration. As prevention of this spontaneous cation migration has proven difficult, a paradigm shift toward management of its reversibility is needed. Herein, we demonstrate that the reversibility of the cation migration of lithium-rich nickel manganese oxides can be remarkably improved by altering the oxygen stacking sequences in the layered structure and thereby dramatically reducing the voltage decay. The preeminent intra-cycle reversibility of the cation migration is experimentally visualized, and first-principles calculations reveal that an O2-type structure restricts the movements of transition metals within the Li layer, which effectively streamlines the returning migration path of the transition metals. Furthermore, we propose that the enhanced reversibility mitigates the asymmetry of the anionic redox in conventional lithium-rich electrodes, promoting the high-potential anionic reduction, thereby reducing the subsequent voltage hysteresis. Our findings demonstrate that regulating the reversibility of the cation migration is a practical strategy to reduce voltage decay and hysteresis in lithium-rich layered materials.