The influence of temperature on area-specific impedance and capacity of Li-ion cells with nickel-containing positive electrodes

The temperature-dependent behaviors of five nickel-containing positive electrodes (NCA, NMC811, NMC622, NMC532, and NMC111) in lithium-ion batteries are investigated using an electrochemical protocol involving rate studies, mild aging (∼100 cycles), and hybrid pulse power characterization (HPPC). Tests are conducted using coin-cells with graphite negative electrodes at −20 °C, 0 °C, 20 °C, and 40 °C. Three techniques are compared for determining the area-specific impedance (ASI): i) fits to the rate study average voltages, ii) fitting to the entire voltage curves using a regularization scheme, and iii) HPPC. When fit to an Arrhenius-type equation, all methods yield similar apparent activation energies (±2 kJ/mol) for the impedance, which range from −20 to −31 kJ/mol for the electrodes. Impedance growth increases with temperature but remains at less than 0.2% per cycle for most electrodes and temperatures. NCA and NMC811 are the exceptions, which yield 0.5% and 1.5% increases in ASI per cycle, respectively, at 40 °C. For cells with the same electrodes, the capacities are similar at 20 and 40 °C but reduce at lower temperatures, with up to a 52% reduction at −20 °C and 2C. The fade in energy of the cells during C/3 cycling is attributed to decreasing capacity as opposed to increasing ASI. •Studied effects of temperature on nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide cathode performance.•Three methods for determining impedance produce the same temperature dependence.•Arrhenius equations describe the temperature-dependent area-specific impedance.•Curve fitting with regularization is useful for determining impedance in batteries.•Energy change and impedance growth depend on temperature and cathode type.