Electric vehicles (EVs) and many portable electronics depend on lithium-ion batteries. But one big challenge remains: slow charging speeds. Most lithium-ion batteries take too long to charge because the materials inside don’t let lithium ions move quickly enough. A new study explores a cutting-edge way to fix this problem using laser engineering on a common battery material called NMC811 (nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide). The article, Mechanistic insights into laser-structured NMC811 cathodes for fast-charging lithium-ion batteries, describes how scientists from Ohio State University and Clemson University, including MSE Faculty members Fei Peng, Yanying Lu, and Tianyu Zhu used picosecond laser ablation — extremely short bursts of laser light — to shape the surface of battery particles. This process creates tiny channels and structures on the cathode (the battery’s positive electrode), which helps lithium ions move more easily during charging.
One of the main problems with standard battery electrodes is that ions can’t travel quickly through the material. When researchers sculpted the electrode material with precise laser patterns, they found that this significantly improved charging performance. The optimized laser treatment boosted the battery’s capacity at high charging speeds by more than 30% compared to unmodified material — a major improvement.
The researchers also noticed changes in the chemistry and stability of the material. For example, an interphase layer of lithium fluoride (LiF) forms on the surface after laser treatment. This layer appears to improve cycling stability, which means the battery can be charged and discharged many times without degrading quickly. However, using too much laser power can lead to undesirable effects like cation mixing (where atoms shift places inside the crystal structure), which can harm performance. This work matters because it combines advanced manufacturing techniques with existing battery chemistry. If laser structuring can be scaled up and made cost-effective, it might lead to faster-charging lithium-ion batteries for EVs and electronics — a big step toward more convenient and efficient energy storage.
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Citation: Mehrvarz, A.; Li, R.; Zhou, Y.; Wu, Y.; Peng, F.; Xiao, H.; Lu, Y.; Zhu, T. Mechanistic insights into laser-structured NMC811 cathodes for fast-charging lithium-ion batteries. JOURNAL OF ENERGY STORAGE 2026, 143.
