Direct evidence of metal–ligand redox processes in positive electrodes during lithium-based battery operation

Describing lithium-based battery positive electrodes based on different transition metal or oxygen-redox regimes can cause confusion in understanding metal–ligand hybridization, oxygen dimerization and degradation processes. Therefore, it is urgent to investigate the electronic structure of these materials and identify the role each cation and anion has in charge compensation at the subnanoscale. Here, using X-ray resonance photoemission spectroscopy, single-impurity Anderson models, spectral simulations and theoretical calculations, we examine redox mechanisms in positive electrodes during lithium-based battery operation. This approach reconciles the redox description of two positive electrode active materials—LiMn 0.6 Fe 0.4 PO 4 and LiNiO 2 —in terms of varying degrees of charge transfer using the Zaanen–Sawatzky–Allen framework. In LiMn 0.6 Fe 0.4 PO 4 , the lack of strong hybridization indicates that the capacity results from the depopulation of metal 3 d states, that is, conventional metal redox. However, in cells with LiNiO 2 -based positive electrodes, negative charge transfer dominates, and redox occurs through the formation and elimination of ligand-hole states. These results clarify the role of oxygen in Ni-rich systems and provide a framework to explain how the charge/discharge capacities are linked to oxygen-dominated states in highly covalent systems, without the need to consider oxygen dimerization.