Publications

Investigation of elevated temperature aging effects on lithium-ion cells

Jungst, Rudolph G.; Nagasubramanian, Ganesan N.; Ingersoll, David I.

Electrical and chemical measurements have been made on 18650-size lithium-ion cells that have been exposed to calendar and cycle life aging at temperatures up to 70 C. Aging times ranged from 2 weeks at the highest temperature to several months under more moderate conditions. After aging, the impedance behavior of the cells was reversed from that found originally, with lower impedance at low state of charge and the total impedance was significantly increased. Investigations using a reference electrode showed that these changes are primarily due to the behavior of the cathode. Measurements of cell impedance as a function of cell voltage reveal a pronounced minimum in the total impedance at approximately 40--50% state-of-charge (SOC). Chemical analysis data are presented to support the SOC assignments for aged and unaged cells. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) data have been recorded at several intermediate states of charge to construct the impedance vs. open circuit voltage curve for the cell. This information has not previously been available for the LiNi{sub 0.85}Co{sub 0.15}O{sub 2} cathode material. Structural and chemical analysis information obtained from cell components removed during postmortems will also be discussed in order to reveal the true state of charge of the cathode and to develop a more complete lithium inventory for the cell.