Journal of Power Sources, Vol.111, No.1, 39-42, 2002
In situ dynamic Ohmic resistivity measurement of LiNi1-yCoyO2 cathodes as a function of the state of discharge
A method for the in situ dynamic measurement of the Ohmic resistivity, R-c, of LiNi1-y CoyO2 cathodes as a function of the state of discharge, x, is developed. It follows the evolution of R-c with only a negligible interference of the discharge process by applying 6-10 short current interruptions and by recording the voltage transients between the cathode and a Li/Li+ reference electrode. It was established with several tens of different LiNi1-yCoyO2 cathodes that the area-specific Ohmic resistivity remains constant in a wide range of x, from 0 up to ca. 0.75, above which a steep linear rise of R-c is observed. This behaviour is in agreement with the expression of the redox potential of the Li insertion electrodes as a function of x proposed by Armand [1] and developed later by Ohzuku et al. [2]. In addition to the logarithmic Volmer-Tafel, term this expression contains a linear one kx, which accounts for the close range in layer Li-Li interaction. The parameters of the R-c/x plots can yield valuable information for the effect of the cathode design as well of the cathode active material on the cyclig performance of the cathodes.