Cathode materials, such as LiNixMnyCo 1-x-yO2, are among the most promising materials for improving the performance of batteries. The performance and qualities of these materials can be greatly impacted by the ratio of Ni-Mn-Co and Li, as well as the impurities in the materials. The analysis of these materials has been reliant on acid digestion and subsequent analysis, such as flame atomic absorption spectroscopy, complexometric titration, and solution-ICP. These methods are time-consuming (requiring 30-60 minutes to digest a sample) and generate hazardous waste.
Laser ablation coupled to inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (LA-ICP-OES) eliminates all acid waste generated in the sample preparation process and in the operation of the ICP-OES, while increasing sample throughput. Battery materials can also be directly analyzed as a solid, with major and trace determination being done simultaneously.
This work presents an LA-ICP-OES method coupling the ESL LaserTRAX system with the Avio® 550 Max fully simultaneous ICP-OES for the direct analysis of cathode materials without acid digestion, providing accurate, precise, and rapid results. With this combination, sample preparation time is reduced to under 3 minutes and analysis to under 4 minutes while eliminating acid digestion from the sample preparation procedure.