NMC 532 Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2) PLD Target

Introduction to NMC 532 Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide Thin Film

NMC 532 (Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2) is a type of lithium-ion battery cathode material that belongs to the NMC family. NMC 532 Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide is a popular material for thin film deposition. There are several methods of this thin film deposition, such as Plasma laser deposition (PLD), physical vapor depsotion (PVD),  chemical vapor depsoition (CVD), and sol-gel methods.

It has a chemical formula of LiNi_0.5Mn_0.3Co_0.2O₂ and is widely used in various applications such as batteries, supercapacitors, and electrochromic devices. The NMC 532 cathode has a higher nickel content than other members of the NMC family, which gives it a higher energy density but lower thermal stability. It was wanted  to reduce the amount of Cobalt as it is Toxic and difficult to extract from the ground in a clean way and there is a need for higher voltage cathodes, as the Nickel content increases, so does the voltage.

 Thin film is being deposited on SrTiO3 substrates and for electrochemical testing, they can be deposited on SrRuO3 high conducting lattice matched interlayers. Sometimes, Nb-doped SrTiO3 substrates are also used but typically not as easy for electrochemical measurements as SrRuO3 interlayers.

Chemical Composition of NMC 532 Thin film

The numbers after the chemical symbols indicate the ratio of each element in the compound, i.e., LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2 means that the compound contains 50% nickel, 30% manganese, 20% cobalt, and oxygen. The chemical composition of NMC 532 Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide is LiNi_0.5Mn_0.3Co_0.2O₂.

Application of NMC 532 Thin Film

NMC 532 Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide is commonly used in thin film form for various applications such as energy storage devices, electrochromic devices, and thin film transistors. It is also used as a cathode material in lithium-ion batteries. Overall, NMC 532 is a widely used cathode material for high-performance lithium-ion batteries due to its high energy density, good cycle life, and moderate cost.

Advantages of NMC 532 Thin Material

The advantages of NMC 532 Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide include high energy density, excellent rate capability, and good cycling stability. It also has a high discharge voltage, which makes it suitable for use in high-performance batteries.

Comparison to Similar Materials

NMC 532 Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide has a better performance compared to other similar materials such as NMC 111 and NMC 622. It also has better thermal stability and safety performance than other cathode materials such as LiCoO₂.

Crystal Structure of NMC 532 Thin Material

NMC 532 Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide has a layered crystal structure with a hexagonal close-packed lattice. The transition metal cations (Ni, Mn, Co) occupy the octahedral sites and the lithium ions occupy the tetrahedral sites.

Typical Substrates

Typical substrates with a good lattice match for the epitaxial growth of NMC 532 Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide include SrTiO₃, MgO, and LaAlO₃.

Other Similar Thin Film Materials

1. NMC 111
2. NMC 622
3. Lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO₂)
4. Lithium manganese oxide (LiMn₂O₄)
5. Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄)