Lithium-Rich Rock Salt Type Sulfides-Selenides (Li(2)TiSe(x)S(3−x)): High Energy Cathode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Lithium-rich disordered rocksalt Li(2)TiS(3) offers large discharge capacities (>350 mAh·g(−1)) and can be considered a promising cathode material for high-energy lithium-ion battery applications. However, the quick fading of the specific capacity results in a poor cycle life of the system, especially when liquid electrolyte-based batteries are used. Our efforts to solve the cycling stability problem resulted in the discovery of new high-energy selenium-substituted materials (Li(2)TiSe(x)S(3−x)), which were prepared using a wet mechanochemistry process. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that all compositions were obtained in cation-disordered rocksalt phase and that the lattice parameters were expanded by selenium substitution. Substituted materials delivered large reversible capacities, with smaller average potentials, and their cycling stability was superior compared to Li(2)TiS(3) upon cycling at a rate of C/10 between 3.0–1.6 V vs. Li(+)/Li.