New review charts a roadmap for next generation high energy lithium ion batteries

A team of international researchers has published a comprehensive review that could accelerate the development of safer and higher energy lithium ion batteries. Their work focuses on a class of materials known as cation disordered rocksalt cathodes, widely considered one of the most promising candidates for powering future electric vehicles and renewable energy storage systems.

The study, published in Energy and Environment Nexus, evaluates the fundamental structure, performance limits, degradation pathways, and design strategies of these unique cathode materials. Unlike traditional layered oxides used in today’s batteries, disordered rocksalt cathodes allow lithium ions to move through three dimensional pathways, which provides exceptional energy storage potential and broad flexibility in chemical composition. However, these benefits are hindered by challenges such as oxygen loss and short range ordering, both of which degrade performance over time.

“Our goal was to connect the structural origins of performance loss with practical design principles. By doing this, we hope to help researchers and industry partners accelerate the translation of these materials from laboratory prototypes to real world applications,” said lead author Tongen Lin of The University of Queensland.

Disordered rocksalt cathodes can deliver specific capacities above 300 mAh per gram, significantly higher than the limit of commercial layered oxides. Their high performance is enabled by lithium excess and a special three dimensional network of migration channels known as zero transition metal pathways. Yet, the same structural features that give these materials their high capacity also make them vulnerable to oxygen redox reactions at high voltage. These reactions can cause irreversible oxygen release, surface densification, and rapid fading of battery capacity.

The authors explain that another major challenge is the presence of short range ordering, a subtle form of atomic arrangement that persists even when the overall structure appears fully disordered. These local atomic clusters interrupt the ideal lithium transport network, limiting both ionic mobility and cycling stability. Advanced microscopy techniques have revealed that even small amounts of short range ordering can dramatically slow down lithium diffusion.

To address these issues, the review highlights a suite of design strategies. These include optimizing lithium content just above the percolation threshold, selecting the right combination of redox active and redox inactive metals, introducing composition specific fluorination to stabilize oxygen, and applying interface engineering methods to protect the cathode surface. The researchers also propose using high entropy cation mixing or controlled partial ordering to suppress unwanted atomic clustering and improve long range lithium transport.

“Disordered rocksalt cathodes offer exceptional promise for next generation lithium ion batteries. However, their performance depends on a delicate balance between structure, composition, and redox behavior. Our review provides a practical toolkit that researchers can use to navigate this complexity,” said co author Yuan Wang.

Co author Matthew Dargusch adds, “This work brings together insights from synthesis, characterization, and modeling. By integrating these perspectives, we can more clearly define what is needed to make disordered rocksalt cathodes a practical option for high energy storage.”

Senior author Lianzhou Wang believes the field is approaching a turning point. “We now have a deeper mechanistic understanding of how oxygen redox, cation disorder, and interface stability interact. This knowledge will help guide the development of durable and commercially viable cathodes that meet the growing demand for sustainable energy technologies.”

The authors hope that their roadmap will inspire new research directions and ultimately support the commercialization of high energy disordered rocksalt batteries, which could contribute to safer electric vehicles, reduced reliance on scarce elements, and a more sustainable energy future.

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Journal reference: Lin T, Yuan F, Wang Y, Dargusch M, Wang L. 2025. Cation disordered rocksalt cathode materials for high-energy lithium-ion batteries. Energy & Environment Nexus 1: e012  

https://www.maxapress.com/article/doi/10.48130/een-0025-0011  

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About Energy & Environment Nexus:
Energy & Environment Nexus is an open-access journal publishing high-quality research on the interplay between energy systems and environmental sustainability, including renewable energy, carbon mitigation, and green technologies.

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