Nucleation-promoting and growth-limiting synthesis of disordered rock-salt Li-ion cathode materials

Nucleation-promoting and growth-limiting synthesis of disordered rock-salt Li-ion cathode materials | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Nucleation-promoting and growth-limiting synthesis of disordered rock-salt Li-ion cathode materials Jinhyuk Lee, Hoda Ahmed, Moohyun Woo, Nicolas Dumaresq, Pablo Lara, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5154732/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 01 Jul, 2025 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Manganese-based disordered rock-salt (Mn-DRX) oxides and oxyfluorides are promising cathode materials for high-performance, nickel- and cobalt-free Li-ion batteries. However, existing synthesis methods for these materials require post-synthesis particle pulverization to achieve acceptable particle size for cycling, which lacks control over particle microstructure and crystallinity, accelerating performance degradation and limiting secondary particle processing. In this study, we propose a universal synthesis method using Li1.2Mn0.4Ti0.4O2 as a representative Mn-DRX, which promotes nucleation while limiting particle growth and agglomeration. This method controls the particle size while preserving the crystallinity to produce highly crystalline, dispersed sub-200 nm single particles, which form homogeneous electrode films with significantly improved capacity retention (84.3% over 100 cycles at ~200 mAh/g) and discharge voltage retention (4.8 mV loss per cycle) compared to electrodes made from particles synthesized through traditional solid-state synthesis followed by pulverization (38.1% capacity retention and 7.5 mV loss per cycle). Our approach offers a new direction for Mn-DRX research and development in nickel- and cobalt-free Li-ion batteries. Physical sciences/Materials science/Materials for energy and catalysis/Batteries Physical sciences/Energy science and technology/Energy storage/Batteries Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformation.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 01 Jul, 2025 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5154732","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":362935407,"identity":"573ce05b-88ac-458f-bac5-35cd930287e4","order_by":0,"name":"Jinhyuk 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