{
  "abstract": "Mechanical degradation in high-nickel layered oxide cathodes is closely associated with anisotropic lattice-parameter changes during electrochemical cycling, yet how cathode microstructure size influences the resulting crystallographic deformation remains poorly understood. Here, we investigate two LiNi0.90Mn0.05Co0.05O2 (NMC955) cathodes with comparable secondary-particle sizes but different average grain sizes (1.0 and 0.5 µm). The fine-grained cathode delivers 30% higher initial discharge capacity, 40% lower voltage polarization, improved rate capability, and 13% higher capacity retention after 100 cycles. Despite its superior electrochemical performance, the fine-grained material exhibits approximately 1.23 times higher mean kernel average misorientation after 100 cycles, together with higher estimated geometrically necessary dislocation density, indicating greater average local lattice curvature. The coarse-grained cathode shows pronounced localization of crystallographic misorientation near grain boundaries and secondary-particle peripheries, whereas the fine-grained cathode exhibits a more spatially distributed misorientation response. Complementary chemo-mechanical simulations reproduce the grain-size-dependent trends in lattice curvature and reveal differences in the spatial distribution of plastic strain associated with the different grain sizes. After 100 cycles, the coarse-grained cathode undergoes extensive intergranular cracking and secondary-particle fragmentation, while the fine-grained cathode largely preserves its structural integrity. These findings identify the spatial localization of cycling-induced crystallographic misorientation, rather than its average magnitude alone, as a pivotal variable for electrode design.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials",
    "Indian Institute of Technology Ropar",
    "School of Materials Science and Engineering",
    "Shanghai Jiao Tong University"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Yosra Dammak"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Soroush Motahari"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Mahander Pratap Singh"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Adam Miles"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Poonam Yadav"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Pradhyun Veerapanaicker Soundaraj"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Stefan Zaefferer"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Dierk Raabe"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Chuanlai Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yug Joshi",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7920-5890"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a51qen4egtpsq.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15010466/v1",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "a51qen4egtpsq",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010466/v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2208|Advancements in Battery Materials"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221803984",
  "pdf_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/pdf/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010466/v1",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-14",
  "publisher": "American Chemical Society (ACS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a51qen4egtpsq.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:24Z",
      "native_id": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15010466",
      "source": "chemrxiv",
      "url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010466/v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "source:chemrxiv",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Microstructure–Driven Degradation Mechanisms in High-Nickel NMC Cathodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries",
  "title_text": "Microstructure–Driven Degradation Mechanisms in High-Nickel NMC Cathodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:24Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a51qen4egtpsq",
  "venue": "ChemRxiv",
  "versions": []
}