Improved Performance of High Voltage Graphite/LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 Batteries with Added Lithium Tetramethyl Borate

Lithium tetramethyl borate (LTMB, LiB(OCH3)4) has been prepared and investigated as a novel cathode film forming additive to improve the performance of LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cathodes cycled to high potential (4.25-4.8 V). Addition of LTMB to 1.2 M LiPF6 in EC/EMC (3/7, v/v) improves the capacity retention of graphite/LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cells cycled at 55◦C. The added LTMB is sacrificially oxidized on the surface of the cathode during the first charging cycle. Ex-situ surface analysis of the LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) reveals the presence of a borate based passivating layer which appears to inhibit electrolyte oxidation on the cathode surface. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by ECS. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 License (CC BY-NC-ND, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is not changed in any way and is properly cited. For permission for commercial reuse, please email: oa@electrochem.org. [DOI: 10.1149/2.0021508eel] All rights reserved.