Master's thesis: Protective surface coatings of NMC811: Positive electrodes for Li-ion batteries

Background
Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxides are a class of high voltage positive electrodes for Li-ion batteries. The high nickel content phase,  (NMC811), has attracted a lot of research interest due to its high energy density. To date, the NMC811 electrodes are mostly manufactured using nonaqueous slurries with toxic organic solvents (e.g. NMP). The NMC811 has a low stability in water which hinders the use of sustainable water-based slurries. The present thesis focuses on developing surface coatings that protect the NMC811 and enable efficient water-based slurry preparation.

Project Goal
The goal of this project is to establish eco-friendly methods for efficient surface coatings of NMC811. The coated material will be used to prepare water-based slurries and be validated electrochemically in half-cells with metallic Li.

The project will include the following tasks:

• Develop eco-friendly coating methods and characterize the coated materials using different characterization techniques (SEM, EDX, XPS, XRD).
• Prepare aqueous slurries using the coated materials
• Electrochemically test the coated materials in Li half-cells

Scope
The thesis project starts on 2025-01-07 and ends on 2025-6-28 (25 weeks). Last day for application is 2024-11-30.

Location
RISE, Stockholm. Option to have part of the work can be performed remotely.

Credits
30 ECTS (academic credits).

Questions
Please contact Researcher: Ahmed Etman (ahmed.etman@ri.se) or Unit manager: Juhanes Aydin (juhanes.aydin@ri.se 0730709420)