Researchers improve performance of cathode material by controlling oxygen activity

An international team of researchers has demonstrated a new way to increase the robustness and energy storage capability of a particular class of "lithium-rich" cathode materials -- by using a carbon dioxide-based gas mixture to create oxygen vacancies at the material's surface. Researchers said the treatment improved the energy density -- the amount of energy stored per unit mass -- of the cathode material by up to 30 to 40 percent.The discovery sheds light on how changing the oxygen compositio