An international research team has published a major breakthrough in Nature Communications, developing a two-step molten-salt synthesis method for disordered rocksalt (DRX) cathode materials. This innovative technique overcomes the critical bottleneck in large-scale production of DRX materials, opening a new pathway toward cobalt- and nickel-free sustainable lithium-ion batteries.

The study was led by McGill University in collaboration with SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford University and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). By precisely controlling nucleation and growth using molten-salt synthesis, the team successfully produced uniform (<200nm), highly crystalline single-particle DRX cathodes. Compared to conventional methods, the new material achieves 85% capacity retention after 100 cycles — more than double the performance of previous approaches.

"This is the first time direct synthesis has been achieved without post-processing grinding," emphasized corresponding author Professor Jinhyuk Lee. "This morphology control not only boosts battery performance but also ensures consistency in mass production." First author Dr. Hoda Ahmed added that the process offers both scalability and energy efficiency, and has already attracted commercial interest from Wildcat Discovery Technologies.

This technological breakthrough holds significant implications for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. By eliminating reliance on scarce metals, DRX materials have the potential to reduce battery costs and enhance supply chain security. The research team stated that this synthesis strategy paves the way for the industrialization of next-generation lithium-ion batteries.