Amorphous Lithium Borate Coating Enhances the Electrochemical Performance of Lithium Manganese Iron Phosphate Cathodes for Highly Stable Lithium-Ion Batteries Seunghyeop Baek, Jihun Roh, Jangwook Pyun, Yeon‐U Lee, Sangki Lee, Seung‐Tae Hong, Namhyung Kim, Munseok S. Chae Batteries and Supercaps, 2025 The advancement of high‐voltage lithium‐ion batteries necessitates the use of cathode materials with improved electrochemical performance and cycling stability. Herein, an amorphous Li2B4O7 coating effectively enhances the electrochemical properties of LiMn0.6Fe0.4PO4 (LMFP) cathodes is demonstrated. Specifically, the Li2B4O7 layer improves lithium‐ion conductivity while suppressing manganese dissolution induced by Jahn‐Teller distortion, both of which are critical factors affecting LMFP stability. Structural and electrochemical analyses reveal that the amorphous coating reduces Coulomb repulsion, lowers the energy barrier for lithium‐ion migration, and enhances charge transfer kinetics. The coated LMFP demonstrates a high discharge capacity of 143.9 mAh g−1 at 20 mA g−1 and exhibits excellent cycling stability, retaining 94.6% of its capacity after 1000 cycles at 600 mA g−1. Furthermore, the amorphous Li2B4O7 coating enhances rate capability by facilitating rapid ion transport. These findings underscore the potential of Li2B4O7 as a multifunctional coating material for advanced lithium‐ion battery cathodes, presenting a scalable and effective strategy for next‐generation energy storage applications.
Architecting Sturdy Si/Graphite Composite with Lubricative Graphene Nanoplatelets for High-Density Electrodes Seongsu Park, Minhong Choi, Jinsu Lee, Sangryeol Lee, Jaehyeon Kim, Taeyeong Yun, Namhyung Kim, Jaekyung Sung, Jaephil Cho, Minseong Ko, Sujong Chae Small, 2025 Densification of the electrode by calendering is essential for achieving high‐energy density in lithium‐ion batteries. However, Si anode, which is regarded as the most promising high‐energy substituent of graphite, is vulnerable to the crack during calendering process due to its intrinsic brittleness. Herein, a distinct strategy to prevent the crack and pulverization of Si nanolayer‐embedded Graphite (Si/G) composite with graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) is proposed. The thickly coated GNP layer on Si/G by simple mechanofusion process imparts exceptional mechanical strength and lubricative characteristic to the Si/G composite, preventing the crack and pulverization of Si nanolayer against strong external force during calendering process. Accordingly, GNP coated Si/G (GNP‐Si/G) composite demonstrates excellent electrochemical performances including superior cycling stability (15.6% higher capacity retention than P‐Si/G after 300 cycles in the full‐cell) and rate capability under the industrial testing condition including high electrode density (>1.6 g cm−3) and high areal capacity (>3.5 mAh cm−2). The material design provides a critical insight for practical approach to resolve the fragile properties of Si/G composite during calendering process.
Identifying the nanostructure of residual Li in high-Ni cathodes for lithium-ion batteries Wooyoung Jin, Yujin Kim, Haeseong Jang, Yehyeon Gu, Namhyung Kim, Hyomyung Lee, Junhyeok Kim, Sinho Choi, Kyu-Nam Jung, Ki-Hun Nam, Jaephil Cho, Hyungyeon Cha Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2024 Identifying the nanostructure of residual Li in high-Ni cathodes is important for their long-term survival. This paper highlights the in-depth understanding of residual Li in nanoscale and suggests appropriate approaches to control the residual Li.
Comparison of commercial silicon-based anode materials for the design of a high-energy lithium-ion battery Minhong Choi, Eunhan Lee, Jaekyung Sung, Namhyung Kim, Minseong Ko Nano Research, 2024 Silicon (Si) is considered a potential alternative anode for next-generation Li-ion batteries owing to its high theoretical capacity and abundance. However, the commercial use of Si anodes is hindered by their large volume expansion (∼ 300%). Numerous efforts have been made to address this issue. Among these efforts, Si-graphite co-utilization has attracted attention as a reasonable alternative for high-energy anodes. A comparative study of representative commercial Si-based materials, such as Si nanoparticles, Si suboxides, and Si–Graphite composites (SiGC), was conducted to characterize their overall performance in high-energy lithium-ion battery (LIB) design by incorporating conventional graphite. Nano-Si was found to exhibit poor electrochemical performance, with severe volume expansion during cycling. Si suboxide provided excellent cycling stability in a full-cell evaluation with stable volume variation after 50 cycles, but had a large irreversible capacity and remarkable volume expansion during the first cycle. SiGC displayed a good initial Coulombic efficiency and the lowest volume change in the first cycle owing to the uniformly distributed nano-Si layer on graphite; however, its long-term cycling stability was relatively poor. To complement each disadvantage of Si suboxide and SiGC, a new combination of these Si-based anodes was suggested and a reasonable improvement in overall battery performance was successfully achieved.
Lithium-ion hopping weakens thermal stability of LiPF6 carbonate electrolytes Kee Sung Han, Mal-Soon Lee, Namhyung Kim, Daiwon Choi, Sujong Chae, Jaegeon Ryu, GiovanniMaria Piccini, Roger Rousseau, Edwin C. Thomsen Cell Reports Physical Science, 2024 Lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6)-based carbonate electrolytes are widely used in commercial lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), but their thermal instability limits the cycle life and safety of LIBs at elevated temperatures. Few studies have yielded insight into the initial PF6− decomposition reaction that promotes thermal instability of LiPF6-based electrolytes. Here, we find that lithium-ion hopping assisted by the overall reorientational motion of propylene carbonate molecules facilitates PF6− decomposition at elevated temperatures in 1 M LiPF6/propylene carbonate electrolyte. Further, we demonstrate that urea additives, by preventing lithium-ion hopping, suppress the initial LiPF6 decomposition reaction and enhance the thermal stability of the electrolyte. LIB cell tests with LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2||Li4Ti5O12 show improved LIB performance at elevated temperatures with the thermally stabilized electrolyte. This study provides key insights into the design of thermally stable LiPF6-based carbonate electrolytes for improving the cycle life, calendar life, and safety of LIBs in elevated-temperature applications.
Lithium Extraction via Salt Roasting: Parametric Study and Reaction Mechanism Analysis Y Heo, YJ Seol, N Kim 249th ECS Meeting (May 24-28, 2026) , 2026 2026
Air and moisture stabilization of layered sodium cathodes through oxygen-affinitive bismuth substitution S Baek, Y Heo, H Lee, H Kwon, J Pyun, G Nam, KH Kim, N Kim, YM Lee, ... Chemical Engineering Journal, 176480 , 2026 2026
Amorphous Lithium Borate Coating Enhances the Electrochemical Performance of Lithium Manganese Iron Phosphate Cathodes for Highly Stable Lithium‐Ion Batteries S Baek, J Roh, J Pyun, YU Lee, S Lee, ST Hong, N Kim, MS Chae Batteries & Supercaps 8 (12), e202500207 , 2025 2025 Citations: 3
Multi-Scale Design Enables Better Utilization of High-Ni Cathode for All-Solid-State Lithium-Ion Batteries H Cha, N Kim, J Cho Electrochemical Society Meeting Abstracts 248, 588-588 , 2025 2025
New Synthesis of Carbonaceous Lithium Hosts for Sulfide-Based All-Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries H Cha, N Kim Electrochemical Society Meeting Abstracts 248, 584-584 , 2025 2025
A surface engineered interlayer of reinforced PP separators for balanced electrochemical and self-extinguishable performance in Li-ion batteries: Morphology and thickness … MJ Lee, YJ Kwon, JW Park, J Yun, J Lee, J Panda, K Zhang, HJ Jung, ... Chemical Engineering Journal 520, 165758 , 2025 2025 Citations: 4
Synergistic nano-micro structuring boosts high-Ni cathode performance for all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries H Cha, H Lee, W Jin, S Chae, O Kwon, J Cho, N Kim Energy Storage Materials, 104470 , 2025 2025 Citations: 3
Recent Strategies for Stabilizing Interfaces in All-solid-state Lithium Metal Batteries: Y.-J. Seol and N. Kim YJ Seol, N Kim Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering 42 (7), 1377-1391 , 2025 2025 Citations: 9
Architecting Sturdy Si/Graphite Composite with Lubricative Graphene Nanoplatelets for High‐Density Electrodes (Small 10/2025) S Park, M Choi, J Lee, S Lee, J Kim, T Yun, N Kim, J Sung, J Cho, M Ko, ... Small 21 (10), 2570072 , 2025 2025
Architecting Sturdy Si/Graphite Composite with Lubricative Graphene Nanoplatelets for High‐Density Electrodes S Park, M Choi, J Lee, S Lee, J Kim, T Yun, N Kim, J Sung, J Cho, M Ko, ... Small 21 (10), 2404949 , 2025 2025 Citations: 5
Identifying the nanostructure of residual Li in high-Ni cathodes for lithium-ion batteries W Jin, Y Kim, H Jang, Y Gu, N Kim, H Lee, J Kim, S Choi, KN Jung, ... Journal of Materials Chemistry A 13 (8), 5599-5605 , 2025 2025 Citations: 9
Unraveling the impact of CNT on electrode expansion in silicon-based lithium-ion batteries Y Kim, M Kim, N Kim, H Cha, S Kim, J Sung, J Cho Energy Storage Materials 74, 103983 , 2025 2025 Citations: 31
Comparison of commercial silicon-based anode materials for the design of a high-energy lithium-ion battery M Choi, E Lee, J Sung, N Kim*, M Ko* Nano Research, 1-8 , 2024 2024 Citations: 29
Composite anode active material, method of preparing the same, and lithium secondary battery including anode including composite anode active material JP Cho, YU Son, JY Ma, NH KIM US Patent 11,901,540 , 2024 2024
Lithium-ion hopping weakens thermal stability of LiPF6 carbonate electrolytes KS Han, MS Lee, N Kim, D Choi, S Chae, J Ryu, GM Piccini, R Rousseau, ... Cell Reports Physical Science 5 (1) , 2024 2024 Citations: 28
Cathode material for lithium secondary battery and method of manufacturing the same SM Oh, IK Kim, YM Yeo, SM Park, YS LEE, NH KIM, JE Lee, DJ Kim, ... US Patent 11,824,190 , 2023 2023
Negative electrode active material for lithium secondary battery, method for manufacturing the same, and lithium secondary battery comprising the same JS KIM, JH Lee, NH KIM, JK SUNG, TY Lee, JP Cho US Patent 11,824,195 , 2023 2023 Citations: 2
Suppressing Deformation of Silicon Anodes via Interfacial Synthesis for Fast‐Charging Lithium‐Ion Batteries T Lee†, N Kim†, J Lee, Y Lee, J Sung, H Kim, S Chae, H Cha, Y Son, ... Advanced Energy Materials 13 (41), 2301139 , 2023 2023 Citations: 47
Anode active material for lithium secondary battery, method of preparing the same, and lithium secondary battery containing the same JH Lee, JS KIM, NH KIM, YU Son, YK LEE, JP Cho US Patent 11,791,457 , 2023 2023
Issues impeding the commercialization of laboratory innovations for energy-dense Si-containing lithium-ion batteries N Kim, Y Kim, J Sung, J Cho Nature Energy 8 (9), 921-933 , 2023 2023 Citations: 281
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Integration of graphite and silicon anodes for the commercialization of high‐energy lithium‐ion batteries S Chae, SH Choi, N Kim, J Sung, J Cho Angewandte Chemie International Edition 59 (1), 110-135 , 2020 2020 Citations: 904
Scalable synthesis of silicon-nanolayer-embedded graphite for high-energy lithium-ion batteries M Ko, S Chae, J Ma, N Kim, HW Lee, Y Cui, J Cho Nature Energy 1 (9), 1-8 , 2016 2016 Citations: 824
Fast-charging high-energy lithium-ion batteries via implantation of amorphous silicon nanolayer in edge-plane activated graphite anodes N Kim, S Chae, J Ma, M Ko, J Cho Nature communications 8 (1), 812 , 2017 2017 Citations: 488
Subnano-sized silicon anode via crystal growth inhibition mechanism and its application in a prototype battery pack J Sung†, N Kim†, J Ma, JH Lee, SH Joo, T Lee, S Chae, M Yoon, Y Lee, ... Nature Energy, 1-12 , 2021 2021 Citations: 282
Issues impeding the commercialization of laboratory innovations for energy-dense Si-containing lithium-ion batteries N Kim, Y Kim, J Sung, J Cho Nature Energy 8 (9), 921-933 , 2023 2023 Citations: 281
Boosting reaction homogeneity in high‐energy lithium‐ion battery cathode materials H Cha, J Kim, H Lee, N Kim, J Hwang, J Sung, M Yoon, K Kim, J Cho Advanced Materials 32 (39), 2003040 , 2020 2020 Citations: 219
Calendering‐Compatible Macroporous Architecture for Silicon–Graphite Composite toward High‐Energy Lithium‐Ion Batteries Y Son†, N Kim†, T Lee, Y Lee, J Ma, S Chae, J Sung, H Cha, Y Yoo, ... Advanced Materials, 2003286 , 2020 2020 Citations: 195
Robust pitch on silicon nanolayer–embedded graphite for suppressing undesirable volume expansion SH Choi, G Nam, S Chae, D Kim, N Kim, WS Kim, J Ma, J Sung, SM Han, ... Advanced Energy Materials 9 (4), 1803121 , 2019 2019 Citations: 190
Micron-sized Fe–Cu–Si ternary composite anodes for high energy Li-ion batteries S Chae, M Ko, S Park, N Kim, J Ma, J Cho Energy & Environmental Science 9 (4), 1251-1257 , 2016 2016 Citations: 188
Towards maximized volumetric capacity via pore-coordinated design for large-volume-change lithium-ion battery anodes J Ma, J Sung, J Hong, S Chae, N Kim, SH Choi, G Nam, Y Son, SY Kim, ... Nature Communications 10 (1), 475 , 2019 2019 Citations: 152
One‐to‐One Comparison of Graphite‐Blended Negative Electrodes Using Silicon Nanolayer‐Embedded Graphite versus Commercial Benchmarking Materials for High‐Energy Lithium‐Ion … S Chae†, N Kim†, J Ma, J Cho, M Ko Advanced Energy Materials 7 (15), 1700071 , 2017 2017 Citations: 140
Quantification of pseudocapacitive contribution in nanocage‐shaped silicon–carbon composite anode Y Son, J Ma, N Kim, T Lee, Y Lee, J Sung, SH Choi, G Nam, H Cho, Y Yoo, ... Advanced Energy Materials 9 (11), 1803480 , 2019 2019 Citations: 112
Strategic pore architecture for accommodating volume change from high Si content in lithium‐ion battery anodes J Ma, J Sung, Y Lee, Y Son, S Chae, N Kim, SH Choi, J Cho Advanced Energy Materials 10 (6), 1903400 , 2020 2020 Citations: 108
Gas phase synthesis of amorphous silicon nitride nanoparticles for high-energy LIBs S Chae, S Park, K Ahn, G Nam, T Lee, J Sung, N Kim, J Cho Energy & Environmental Science 13 (4), 1212-1221 , 2020 2020 Citations: 87
Critical role of cations in lithium sites on extended electrochemical reversibility of co‐rich layered oxide W Cho, S Myeong, N Kim, S Lee, Y Kim, M Kim, SJ Kang, N Park, P Oh, ... Advanced Materials 29 (21), 1605578 , 2017 2017 Citations: 80
Fabrication of Lamellar Nanosphere Structure for Effective Stress‐Management in Large‐Volume‐Variation Anodes of High‐Energy Lithium‐Ion Batteries J Sung, J Ma, SH Choi, J Hong, N Kim, S Chae, Y Son, SY Kim, J Cho Advanced Materials 31 (33), 1900970 , 2019 2019 Citations: 77
Stress relief principle of micron‐sized anodes with large volume variation for practical high‐energy lithium‐ion batteries Y Lee, T Lee, J Hong, J Sung, N Kim, Y Son, J Ma, SY Kim, J Cho Advanced Functional Materials 30 (40), 2004841 , 2020 2020 Citations: 67
Suppressing Deformation of Silicon Anodes via Interfacial Synthesis for Fast‐Charging Lithium‐Ion Batteries T Lee†, N Kim†, J Lee, Y Lee, J Sung, H Kim, S Chae, H Cha, Y Son, ... Advanced Energy Materials 13 (41), 2301139 , 2023 2023 Citations: 47
Comparison of Li-ion battery chemistries under grid duty cycles N Kim, N Shamim, A Crawford, VV Viswanathan, BM Sivakumar, Q Huang, ... Journal of Power Sources 546, 231949 , 2022 2022 Citations: 46
Unraveling the impact of CNT on electrode expansion in silicon-based lithium-ion batteries Y Kim, M Kim, N Kim, H Cha, S Kim, J Sung, J Cho Energy Storage Materials 74, 103983 , 2025 2025 Citations: 31