Protective Metal-Oxide films for NMC-811

This research is part of Work Package 4 of the Faraday grant (Materials Design). The project involves the solution deposition of metal oxide films on NMC-811, with a particular focus on aluminium oxide. A further area of study will be the investigation of dopant metals within the oxide host, to counteract the degradation of the cathode sacrificially and in terms of solid-state metal-ion diffusion. Studies will start with commercial NMC-811 but move onto bespoke nano-particle samples in an effort to increase performance. The primary goal is to develop a scalable method of deposition that could be applied industrially, resulting in increased lifetime of the cathode. The programme will involve wet synthesis, solid-state characterisation of film morphology and electrochemical measurements of coin cells. Once a process is found which provides significant increase in lifetime, the programme will integrate with other aspects of the Faraday effort by exploring the performance of pouch cells.