An international team led by scientists from the Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials at the University of Wollongong in Australia has verified that the introduction of novel molecular orbital interactions can improve the structural stability of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries.
In open-access research published in Angewandte Chemie, first author Dr Gemeng Liang, Prof Zaiping Guo, A/Prof Wei Kong Pang and associates, used multiple capabilities at Australia’s Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, (ANSTO) and other techniques to provide evidence that doping a promising cathode material—spinel LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO)—with germanium significantly strengthens the 4s-2p orbital interaction between oxygen and metal cations.
The 4s-2p orbital is relatively uncommon, but we found a compound in the literature in which germanium has a valence…