Spalling and corrosion behavior of corundum sagger containing γ-LiAlO ₂ during calcination of Li-ion battery cathode materials

In this study, to develop a refractory ceramic raw material with excellent lithium corrosion resistance, a γ-LiAlO2 raw material was manufactured from Li2CO3–Al2O3 via a solid-state reaction method, and its corrosion resistance against Li(Ni0.8Co0.1Mn0.1) was estimated by mixing it with corundum (Al2O3). To evaluate the basic properties of the manufactured γ-LiAlO2, its crystalline phase(XRD), crystalline phase fraction(Rietveld), and thermal expansion coefficient(TMA) were examined, while its microstructure(SEM) and crystalline phase were analyzed to determine the lithium corrosion behavior. The results of the basic property analysis of γ-LiAlO2 revealed that its single crystalline phase consisted of Li2CO3 and Al2O3 with a mixing ratio (wt.%) of 5.5:4.5, and the highest crystalline phase fraction (96.81%) was achieved. The results of the lithium corrosion behavior analysis demonstrated that as the added amount of γ-LiAlO2 increased, the corrosion depth of the cut surface decreased from 1800 to 600 µm, thereby improving the lithium corrosion resistance by up to 66%.