Unraveling the Rapid Performance Decay of Layered High-Energy Cathodes: From Nanoscale Degradation to Drastic Bulk Evolution

Lithium-rich layered oxides are promising cathode candidates because of their exceptional high capacity. The commercial application of these high-energy cathodes, however, is thwarted by the undesired rapid performance decay during cycling. Surface degradation has been widely considered to correlate with the performance decay of the cathodes, whereas, in this work, we demonstrate that the degradation of Li-rich high-energy Li_1.2Ni_0.13Mn_0.54Co_0.1…