Professors Benhe Zhong and Xiaodong Guo’s research team at the laboratory of Phosphorus-based Functional Materials and New Energy Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, has made new research findings which are published in Nano Energy ( (IF=15.548 ) entitled “Polyanion and Cation Co-doping Stabilized Ni-rich Ni–Co–Al Material as Cathode with Enhanced Electrochemical Performance for Li-ion Battery”. The first author is Lang Qiu, a class 2017 master student of School of Chemical Engineering. Professor Xiaodong Guo is the corresponding author, and School of Chemical Engineering is the first work unit. This laboratory is affiliated with MOE’s Research Center for Comprehensive Utilization and Clean Processing Engineering of Phosphorus Resources. Under the leadership of SCU Distinguished Professor Benhe Zhong, the research team has made remarkable achievements and won the honor of “Huang Danian Style Teacher Team”, and it is the first time any team has ever received such an honor. Professor Xiaodong Guo led the research team of phosphorus-based functional materials and new energy chemical engineering, which is focused on the research and development of lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries, among others. Drawing on the MOE Research Center for Comprehensive Utilization and Clean Processing Engineering of Phosphorus Resources, this team has carried out lots of research work and made important progress. The reported high-nickel ternary materials are currently the most competitive cathode materials for power lithium-ion batteries. Since 2010, this laboratory has carried out research on ternary-layered oxide cathode materials, and produced a lot of results. 52 SCI papers and 10 related patents have been published in Advanced Materials, Advanced Energy, Materials, Advanced Scienceand other journals. The related research work has entered the pilot stage.

Lithium-ion batteries have a long cycle life, high energy density and are environmentally friendly. They are the best chemical power supply with comprehensive performance so far. Lithium-ion batteries have become predominant in the 3C electronic field, and show a strong momentum of development in power batteries. The research paper abstract reads as follows: “Layered Ni-rich transition metal oxides exert great potential as high-capacity cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. However, structural degradation during lithiation/delithiation hinders the cathode materials for commercial utilization. Herein, PO₄³⁻polyanion and Mn⁴⁺cation are co-doped into Ni-rich LiNi_0.80Co_0.15Al_0.05O₂cathode to improve the structural stability and electrochemical performance. The effects of PO₄³⁻and Mn⁴⁺co-existence on phase, crystal structure, element valence state, electrochemical performance and phase transition during lithiation/delithihation are systematically investigated. The results show that moderate content of PO₄³⁻and Mn⁴⁺co-doping can enlarge the channel for Li⁺lithiation/delithiation, lower the cationic mixing, and suppress the structural degradation during cycling. With the stabilization role of Mn⁴⁺and PO₄³⁻, the material with moderate amount of dopants shows remarkable enhanced electrochemical performance, especially at harsh condition. In the cell potential of 2.7–4.3 V, the 3% PO₄³⁻and Mn⁴⁺co-doped cathode shows a reversible discharge capacity of 204 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1C, outstanding cycling stability with a capacity of 174 mAh g⁻¹ and capacity retention of 85.5% at 1C after 100 cycles, especially, a superior discharge capacity of 157.8 mAh g⁻¹at 5C. Even at elevated temperature of 55 °C, the cathode retains 80.9% of initial capacity ( 195 mAh g⁻¹ ) at 1C after 100 cycles.”

Research paper link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221128551930518X