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Vol. 18 (2026)

Inhibition of Surface-Originated Degradations in Lithium-Rich Layered Cathode via a Pre-Constructed Carbon/Fluorine-Rich Artificial CEI Layer

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-026-02276-8
He Zhao
State Key Laboratory of Organic‑Inorganic Composites, Beijing Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Process and Technology for Materials, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, People’s Republic of China
Jiaqi Sun
State Key Laboratory of Organic‑Inorganic Composites, Beijing Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Process and Technology for Materials, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, People’s Republic of China
Razium Ali Soomro
Institute of Advanced Energy Storage Materials and Technologies, College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Yan’an University, Yan’an 716000, People’s Republic of China
Ning Sun
State Key Laboratory of Organic‑Inorganic Composites, Beijing Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Process and Technology for Materials, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, People’s Republic of China
Song Hong
Analysis Technology R&D Center, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, People’s Republic of China
Bin Xu
State Key Laboratory of Organic‑Inorganic Composites, Beijing Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Process and Technology for Materials, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Bin Xu

xubin@yau.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 18 (2026), Article Number: 433

Abstract

In the ongoing pursuit of energy-dense lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), Li-rich layered oxide (LLO) cathodes provide an attractive path forward with extraordinary capacity delivery and low raw material cost. However, the surface-originated degradations and local structure rearrangement incur severe capacity and voltage fading, which fundamentally impedes the practical deployment of LLOs. Here, we report a pre-constructed multifunctional carbon/fluorine-rich artificial cathode electrolyte interface (CEI) layer via a facile thermal treatment. This surface integrated layer, with high-voltage tolerance and amorphous features, is designed to mitigate surface-originated parasitic reactions and phase transformations induced by electrochemistry. Multiscale characterizations reveal that the artificial CEI layer exhibits excellent interfacial compatibility with both the LLO cathode and the electrolyte system, ensuring highly reversible anionic redox and low activation barrier for Li+ transport. Profiting from this architecture, remarkable cycling stability is achieved including 90.6% retention after 300 cycles in half cell, along with high energy efficiency and markedly alleviated voltage fading. More importantly, the artificial CEI layer demonstrates a distinct depolarization effect, which almost completely prevents the rise in charging voltage upon cycling. This work provides valuable insights into surficial/interfacial modulations and broadens research directions for designing high-voltage cathodes with more durable interphases for next-generation batteries.


Highlights:
1 A multifunctional carbon/fluorine-rich artificial cathode electrolyte interphase (CEI) layer is fabricated on Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6O2 cathode surface.
2 The artificial CEI layer ensures highly reversible anionic redox, with higher Coulombic efficiency, suppressed local structure rearrangement, and lowered Li+ transport activation barrier.
3 Profiting from the mitigated surface-originated degradations, capacity retention up to 90.6% after 300 cycles is achieved, with markedly alleviated voltage decay and effective surface depolarization.

Keywords

Li-rich layered cathodes Anionic redox reaction Surface tailoring CEI layer
Zhao, He, Jiaqi Sun, Razium Ali Soomro, Ning Sun, Song Hong, and Bin Xu. 2026. “Inhibition of Surface-Originated Degradations in Lithium-Rich Layered Cathode via a Pre-Constructed Carbon/Fluorine-Rich Artificial CEI Layer”. Nano-Micro Letters 18 (July):433. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-026-02276-8.
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