{ "spore": "profile", "id": "lithium-cobalt-oxide", "spore_version": "0.2", "family": "lithium", "name": "Lithium cobalt oxide", "abbreviation": "LCO", "role": "cathode", "category": "energy", "type": "li-ion-cathodes", "summary": "Lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) is the layered cathode used in the first commercial lithium-ion cells. It is still the main cathode for portable electronics, and NASA lists it in the batteries of many spacecraft, including the International Space Station's lithium-ion batteries. Normal 4.2 V cells use only about half of its theoretical capacity, and its cobalt content is costly and tied to one dominant supplier country.\n", "best_for": "Compact, proven cells with a flat voltage near 3.9 V and a long flight record", "weakest_at": "Using more than half its lithium, and thermal runaway heat once a cell is abused", "identity": { "formula": "LiCoO2", "cas": "12190-79-3", "crystal_system": "trigonal (layered, often described on hexagonal axes)", "space_group": "R-3m", "designations": [], "source": "ijms-nano-2026", "where": "Section 3.1.1 (CAS from PubChem and the SDS)" }, "tags": { "environments": [ "low-earth-orbit", "cislunar", "deep-space" ], "stresses": [ "extreme-cold", "extreme-heat", "micrometeoroids-and-debris" ], "applications": [ "batteries" ] }, "properties": [ { "benchmark": "theoretical_capacity", "value": 274, "bound": "exact", "unit": "mAh/g", "scope": "material", "conditions": { "basis": "figure quoted by the review; the same review says the ~140 mAh/g delivered at 4.2 V is 51% of it" }, "method": "Capacity from the formula (value as stated in the review, not recomputed here)", "status": "calculated", "note": "Another review (ijms-nano-2026) gives 274 in one place and 280 in another; 274 is used here.", "source": "adv-mater-lco-2026", "where": "Introduction, section 1", "source_detail": { "title": "Decoding High-voltage LiCoO2: From Degradation to Stabilization Toward Durable Li-ion Batteries", "id": "doi:10.1002/adma.202523570", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202523570", "year": 2026, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY 4.0" } }, { "benchmark": "practical_capacity", "value": 140, "bound": "exact", "unit": "mAh/g", "scope": "material", "conditions": { "upper_cutoff": "4.2 V vs Li/Li+", "cell": "conventional LCO systems", "rate": "not stated in the source" }, "method": "Review statement of typical delivered capacity", "status": "ground", "note": "Reported as approximately 140 mAh/g. Charging to higher voltage gives more capacity but faster degradation (see risks).", "source": "adv-mater-lco-2026", "where": "Introduction, section 1", "source_detail": { "title": "Decoding High-voltage LiCoO2: From Degradation to Stabilization Toward Durable Li-ion Batteries", "id": "doi:10.1002/adma.202523570", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202523570", "year": 2026, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY 4.0" } }, { "benchmark": "avg_voltage", "label": "Operating voltage range", "value": 3.9, "value_high": 4.2, "bound": "range", "unit": "V vs Li/Li+", "scope": "material", "conditions": { "basis": "operating voltage range listed for LiCoO2 in a comparison table" }, "method": "Literature comparison table", "status": "ground", "source": "ijms-nano-2026", "where": "Table 4", "source_detail": { "title": "Nanostructured Cathode Materials for Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Batteries: Synthesis, Morphology, and Performances", "id": "doi:10.3390/ijms27156797", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27156797", "year": 2026, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY 4.0" } }, { "benchmark": "plateau_voltage", "label": "Charge-discharge plateau voltage", "value": 3.92, "bound": "exact", "unit": "V vs Li/Li+", "scope": "material", "conditions": { "window": "2.5-4.3 V", "electrode": "nanostructured LiCoO2 made by sol-gel, half cell" }, "method": "Charge-discharge curve (Figure 6a of the review)", "status": "ground", "note": "The review gives \"approximately 3.92 V\" for the first plateau; this is a plateau, not a computed average voltage. The text gives a 2.5-4.3 V window, but the Figure 6 caption describes a half-cell cycled between 3.0 and 4.8 V; the paper does not reconcile the two.", "source": "ijms-nano-2026", "where": "Section 3.1.1, Figure 6", "source_detail": { "title": "Nanostructured Cathode Materials for Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Batteries: Synthesis, Morphology, and Performances", "id": "doi:10.3390/ijms27156797", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27156797", "year": 2026, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY 4.0" } }, { "benchmark": "electronic_conductivity", "value": 6e-8, "bound": "exact", "unit": "S/cm", "scope": "material", "conditions": { "temperature": "20 °C", "sample": "sintered LCO pellets between ion-blocking electrodes", "state": "not stated for this value in the source" }, "method": "Ex situ electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (value reported as ca. 6 x 10^-8 S/cm)", "status": "ground", "note": "The same paper notes conductivity rises by six orders of magnitude going from LiCoO2 to Li0.5CoO2 (four-electrode AC on pellets).", "source": "iscience-lco-2025", "where": "Introduction (paragraph on LCO pellets)", "source_detail": { "title": "Electronic transport properties in lithium cobalt oxide battery electrode material studied in ion-gated transistor configuration", "id": "doi:10.1016/j.isci.2025.112657", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.112657", "year": 2025, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0" } }, { "benchmark": "density", "label": "Tap density", "value": 4.2, "bound": "exact", "unit": "g/cm3", "scope": "material", "conditions": { "form": "large (about 20 um) single-crystal LiCoO2 particles used in phone batteries", "basis": "tap density, not crystallographic density" }, "method": "Value stated in a review (measurement method not given)", "status": "ground", "source": "chemrev-single-crystal-2025", "where": "Section 1.1, Single Crystal History and Trend", "source_detail": { "title": "Single Crystal Cathode Materials for Lithium-Based Batteries: Synthesis, Scaleup, and Manufacturing", "id": "doi:10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00485", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00485", "year": 2025, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0" } }, { "benchmark": "thermal_runaway_onset", "value": 111.78, "bound": "exact", "unit": "°C", "scope": "cell", "conditions": { "cell": "18650, LCO/graphite, 2.2 Ah rated, 3.7 V nominal", "soc": "100%", "test": "ARC heat-wait-search, 60 to 300 °C, 5 °C steps, 15 min wait", "definition": "onset of exothermic reaction, self-heating rate above 0.03 °C/min" }, "method": "Accelerating rate calorimetry (ARC) on commercial cells", "status": "ground", "note": "The authors attribute this first onset to SEI decomposition on the graphite anode, not to the cathode. Thermal runaway temperature (self-heating above 10 °C/min) was 180.16 °C and the maximum cell temperature 545.11 °C. In the same test NCA, NCM811 and LFP cells reached 491.84, 462.52 and 239.26 °C.", "source": "yuan-2024", "where": "Table 1, Table 2, section 3.1", "source_detail": { "title": "Influence of cathode materials on thermal characteristics of lithium-ion batteries", "id": "doi:10.3389/fchem.2024.1324840", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2024.1324840", "year": 2024, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY" } }, { "benchmark": "thermal_runaway_tmax", "label": "Maximum temperature in thermal runaway (cell)", "value": 545.11, "bound": "exact", "unit": "°C", "scope": "cell", "conditions": { "cell": "18650, LCO/graphite, 2.2 Ah", "soc": "100%", "test": "ARC, adiabatic" }, "method": "Accelerating rate calorimetry (ARC)", "status": "ground", "note": "The paper ranks the runaway danger of the four chemistries tested as LCO > NCA > NCM811 >> LFP.", "source": "yuan-2024", "where": "Table 2", "source_detail": { "title": "Influence of cathode materials on thermal characteristics of lithium-ion batteries", "id": "doi:10.3389/fchem.2024.1324840", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2024.1324840", "year": 2024, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY" } }, { "benchmark": "cycle_life", "label": "ISS flight battery cycles to date", "value": 16000, "bound": "lower", "unit": "cycles", "scope": "cell", "conditions": { "cell": "GS Yuasa 134 Ah LCO/graphite, 30 in series per battery", "orbit": "ISS low Earth orbit", "end_of_charge_voltage": "3.95 V per cell", "date": "approx. 16,000 cycles on batteries 1A/3A as of 9 Oct 2019", "cell_temperature": "within 5 °C across cells" }, "method": "On-orbit operation", "status": "flight", "note": "Cycles accumulated so far, not cycles to failure. The batteries were reported as performing well. Capacity of battery 1A1 went from 113.1 Ah (Jan 2017) to 111.0 Ah (Feb 2018) to 109.9 Ah (Feb 2019).", "source": "nasa-iss-2019", "where": "Slides 8 and 12", "source_detail": { "title": "International Space Station Lithium-Ion Battery Status (NASA Aerospace Battery Workshop, 19 Nov 2019)", "id": "NTRS 20200000004", "url": "https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20200000004", "year": 2019, "kind": "report", "license": "public domain" } }, { "benchmark": "cycle_life", "label": "Ground LEO cycling of a 10 Ah Co-oxide cell battery", "value": 3441, "bound": "lower", "unit": "cycles", "scope": "cell", "conditions": { "cell": "MSA 10 Ah prismatic, Co oxide positive, graphitic carbon negative, 8-cell battery", "depth_of_discharge": "40%", "temperature": "20 °C, with some cycling at -10 and 0 °C", "charge": "battery voltage clamp (30.8 V) with current taper" }, "method": "Low-Earth-orbit regime cycling on the ground", "status": "ground", "note": "Cycles completed at the time of the 2001 report, not to failure. The low-temperature cycling started after 2182 cycles at 20 °C.", "source": "nasa-rao-2001", "where": "Summary of results (MSA cells)", "source_detail": { "title": "Performance of Li-Ion Cells Under Battery Voltage Charge Control", "id": "NTRS 20020043395", "url": "https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20020043395", "year": 2001, "kind": "report", "license": "public domain" } }, { "benchmark": "cycle_life", "label": "Sony 18650 LCO battery on Aquarius, cycles to date", "value": 6500, "bound": "lower", "unit": "cycles", "scope": "cell", "conditions": { "battery": "8s2p ABSL/Enersys, Sony 18650 LCO cells", "operating_temperature": "-10 to 40 °C", "launch": "June 2011" }, "method": "Mission battery table (value given as ~6,500 to date)", "status": "flight", "note": "Listed as cycle life \"to date\" in the 2017 NASA assessment, not a measured end of life.", "source": "nasa-jpl-estorage", "where": "Table 3-5", "source_detail": { "title": "Energy Storage Technologies for Future Planetary Science Missions", "id": "JPL D-101146", "url": "https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/system/downloadable_items/716_Energy_Storage_Tech_Report_FINAL.PDF", "year": 2017, "kind": "report", "license": "public domain" } }, { "benchmark": "operating_temperature_range", "label": "Operating range of space Li-ion batteries (LCO, Sony 18650)", "value": -10, "value_high": 45, "bound": "range", "unit": "°C", "scope": "cell", "conditions": { "battery": "Kepler 8s2p ABSL Sony 18650 LCO battery (Aquarius is -10 to 40 °C, SMAP 10 to 25 °C)" }, "method": "Mission battery table", "status": "flight", "source": "nasa-jpl-estorage", "where": "Table 3-5", "source_detail": { "title": "Energy Storage Technologies for Future Planetary Science Missions", "id": "JPL D-101146", "url": "https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/system/downloadable_items/716_Energy_Storage_Tech_Report_FINAL.PDF", "year": 2017, "kind": "report", "license": "public domain" } } ], "corrosion": [ { "environment": "Electrolyte at normal charge limit (about 4.2 V)", "headline": "At the normal 4.2 V limit, cobalt dissolution and capacity loss were minimal.", "effect": "Minimal cobalt dissolution or capacity loss was detected when cycling at 4.2 V.", "rating": "low", "conditions": { "voltage": "4.2 V vs Li/Li+", "cell": "carbonate electrolyte with LiPF6 (typical)" }, "source": "adv-mater-lco-2026", "where": "Section 3.2 (Co dissolution)" }, { "environment": "Electrolyte at high voltage (4.5 V and above)", "headline": "Above 4.5 V, cobalt dissolves into the electrolyte and slows lithium at the anode.", "effect": "Cobalt dissolves into the electrolyte, forms corrosion zones near the particle surface, and the dissolved ions travel to the anode, where they slow lithium transport. Surface Co3+ is rapidly reduced to Co2+ on contact with electrolyte under high voltage.", "rating": "severe", "conditions": { "voltage": "charged to 4.5 V", "temperature": "worse above 60 °C" }, "source": "adv-mater-lco-2026", "where": "Section 3.2, Figure 6" }, { "environment": "Surface oxygen loss at high voltage", "headline": "Above about 4.3 V the surface begins to lose oxygen, and the structure collapses.", "effect": "Oxygen evolution switches on above about 4.3 V and the review puts the threshold for significant oxygen release at 4.5 V; surface structure then collapses and electrolyte oxidises faster.", "rating": "moderate", "conditions": { "voltage": "above ~4.3 V (onset) and 4.5 V (significant)", "temperature": "faster above 60 °C" }, "source": "adv-mater-lco-2026", "where": "Section 3.2" }, { "environment": "Aluminium current collector with LiPF6 electrolyte", "headline": "LiPF6 is compatible with aluminium, but collectors can corrode at high voltage and temperature.", "effect": "LiPF6 is described as compatible with aluminium current collectors. In general lithium-ion cells, corrosion mainly affects the Cu and Al current collectors at high temperature, over-discharge and high voltage.", "rating": "low", "conditions": { "electrolyte": "LiPF6 carbonate", "note": "no LCO-specific aluminium corrosion rate found" }, "source": "yang-2026", "where": "Section on electrolyte salts (LiPF6 compatibility with Al collectors)" }, { "environment": "HF from LiPF6 and trace moisture", "headline": "Trace water turns LiPF6 into hydrofluoric acid, which damages the electrode surface.", "effect": "With trace water, LiPF6 breaks down to PF5, which hydrolyses to hydrofluoric acid (HF). HF damages the electrode-electrolyte interface and speeds transition-metal dissolution.", "rating": "moderate", "conditions": { "trigger": "LiPF6 above about 60 °C, trace moisture", "note": "general electrolyte statement, not measured on LCO alone" }, "source": "yang-2026", "where": "Section 3 (electrolyte decomposition) and electrolyte salt section" }, { "environment": "Humid air or water exposure of the powder", "headline": "The powder should be stored dry, but no degradation rate in humid air was found.", "effect": "The supplier safety data sheet says to store under inert atmosphere and protect from moisture. No measured degradation rate for LCO in humid air was found.", "rating": "unknown", "conditions": { "source_type": "supplier SDS storage instruction" }, "source": "sds-lco-sam", "where": "Section 7" } ], "risks": { "hazards": [ { "text": "PubChem aggregates 194 ECHA notifications for lithium cobalt oxide; notified classifications differ. The most common are: may cause an allergic skin reaction (26.8%), may cause cancer (22.7%), may damage fertility or the unborn child (12.4% and 58.8% with suspected unborn-child harm). Other notifications add fatal if inhaled, may cause allergy or asthma symptoms if inhaled, and damage to organs through prolonged exposure.", "ghs": [ "H317", "H350", "H360", "H360Fd", "H330", "H334", "H372" ], "source": "pubchem-lco", "where": "GHS Classification section" }, { "text": "A supplier SDS (revision 18 Feb 2020) classifies it as carcinogenicity category 1B and reproductive toxicity category 2 (suspected of damaging fertility), signal word Danger. Workplace limit listed: ACGIH TLV 0.02 mg/m3 (time-weighted average, as cobalt).", "ghs": [], "source": "sds-lco-sam", "where": "Sections 2 and 8" } ], "failure_risks": [ { "mode": "Thermal runaway of a charged cell", "trigger": "Heating a fully charged 18650 LCO cell in an accelerating rate calorimeter", "consequence": "Self-heating started at 111.78 °C, runaway (over 10 °C/min) at 180.16 °C and the cell reached 545.11 °C. This is above the autoignition temperature the paper quotes for diethyl carbonate (445 °C). The same paper ranks LCO the most dangerous of LCO, NCA, NCM811 and LFP.", "severity": "critical", "source": "yuan-2024", "where": "Table 2, section 3.1" }, { "mode": "Structural damage from over-charging", "trigger": "Charging above 4.5 V; above 4.6 V the damage is irreversible", "consequence": "Phase transitions below 4.5 V are reversible with negligible capacity loss; charging beyond 4.6 V causes irreversible structural degradation. A monoclinic phase forms near 4.2 V and an H1-3 phase near 4.55 V, with lattice contraction and cracking of particles.", "severity": "high", "source": "adv-mater-lco-2026", "where": "Section 3.1 (structural changes)" }, { "mode": "Loss of oxygen from the surface", "trigger": "High voltage (above about 4.3 V) and temperature above 60 °C", "consequence": "Oxygen release is described as a primary trigger of thermal instability of cathode materials and speeds electrolyte oxidation and capacity fade.", "severity": "high", "source": "adv-mater-lco-2026", "where": "Section 3.2" }, { "mode": "Failure of a large cell next to others in a battery", "trigger": "One cell failing in the ISS battery", "consequence": "Design requires non-propagation beyond the battery unit. Safety features include two independent controls against thermal runaway, radiant barriers between cell pairs, directed vents and a flame trap on the unit. A BCDU failure in 2018 blew the fuse in one new ISS Li-ion battery.", "severity": "high", "source": "nasa-iss-2016", "where": "Slides 11-14 (and nasa-iss-2019 slide 7 for the fuse event)" } ], "side_effects": [ { "text": "Dissolved cobalt migrates from the cathode to the anode and slows lithium movement there, adding to impedance and capacity loss.", "affects": "Graphite anode and SEI of the same cell", "source": "adv-mater-lco-2026", "where": "Section 3.2" }, { "text": "Cells need electronic charge control for long life and safe operation, and are less tolerant of electrical and thermal abuse than aqueous nickel batteries.", "affects": "Spacecraft power system and its battery management hardware", "source": "nasa-jpl-estorage", "where": "Section 3.3.2, text after Table 3-5" } ], "handling": [ { "text": "Store under an inert atmosphere, keep the container tightly closed in a dry place, protect from moisture, avoid dust, and store locked up.", "source": "sds-lco-sam", "where": "Sections 2 and 7" } ], "mitigations": [ { "text": "ISS Li-ion batteries: voltage and temperature monitoring of all 30 cells, cell-level fault isolation, thermal radiant barriers between cell pairs, controlled vent direction, an overpressure relief and flame trap on the unit, micrometeoroid and debris shielding, and an internal fusible link in each cell.", "source": "nasa-iss-2016", "where": "Slides 10-14" }, { "text": "Doping, surface coating, single-crystal particles and electrolyte additives are the approaches the review lists for keeping LCO stable at higher charge voltage.", "source": "adv-mater-lco-2026", "where": "Sections on foreign-ion doping, surface modification and electrolyte design" } ] }, "uses": [ { "application": "batteries", "device": "International Space Station main power battery", "example": "GS Yuasa 134 Ah lithium cobalt oxide / graphite cells, 30 in series per battery, replacing two nickel-hydrogen units. The first six batteries launched on HTV-6 on 9 Dec 2016; two ISS channels ran on Li-ion only from January 2017.", "source": "nasa-iss-2016", "where": "Slides 6-10, 19; nasa-iss-2019 slides 4-8" }, { "application": "batteries", "device": "NASA science spacecraft batteries (large and small cells)", "example": "Table 3-3 lists lithium-ion (LCO) batteries on Kepler (2009), Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (2009), LCROSS (2009), LADEE (2013), DSCOVR (2015), MMS (2015), James Webb Space Telescope (listed 2018) and JPSS-2 (listed 2021).", "source": "nasa-jpl-estorage", "where": "Table 3-3" }, { "application": "batteries", "device": "Small-cell 18650 spacecraft battery", "example": "Sony LiCoO2 18650 cells in ABSL/Enersys batteries on Kepler, Aquarius and SMAP; ESA's Mars Express (2003) is described as the first Li-ion battery to orbit Mars, from the same maker.", "source": "nasa-jpl-estorage", "where": "Section 3.3.2, Table 3-5" }, { "application": "batteries", "device": "Portable electronics cells", "example": "Sony commercialised lithium-ion cells in 1991 and LCO became the predominant commercial cathode; it dominates cells for portable electronic devices.", "source": "adv-mater-lco-2026", "where": "Introduction" } ], "supply": [ { "subject": "Cobalt", "abundance": "No crustal abundance figure was read from a source for this profile. USGS gives identified world terrestrial cobalt resources as about 25 million tons and world reserves as 12,000,000 tons.", "producers": [ { "country": "Congo (Kinshasa)", "share_percent": 73, "year": 2025 }, { "country": "Indonesia", "share_percent": 14, "year": 2025 } ], "critical_lists": [ { "list": "USGS 2025 List of Critical Minerals (final, 7 Nov 2025)", "listed": true }, { "list": "EU Critical Raw Materials Act, Annex II (Regulation 2024/1252)", "listed": true } ], "recycling": "In 2025, cobalt content of purchased scrap in the United States represented 25% of estimated cobalt consumption. China is the leading producer of refined cobalt and the leading consumer, mainly for lithium-ion batteries.", "substitutes": [ "The cobalt content of lithium-ion batteries was being decreased; cobalt-free cathodes using iron and phosphorus held significant market share in China." ], "source": "usgs-cobalt-2026", "where": "Events, Trends, and Issues; World Mine Production and Reserves; Substitutes Critical-list status from crs-usgs-list-2026 (aluminum, cobalt, lithium and nickel are all on the USGS list) and eu-crma-2024 (cobalt, lithium, nickel battery grade, bauxite/alumina/aluminium)." }, { "subject": "Lithium", "abundance": "USGS gives world lithium reserves of 37,000,000 tons and measured and indicated resources of about 150 million tons. No crustal abundance figure was read.", "producers": [ { "country": "Australia", "share_percent": 31.7, "year": 2025 }, { "country": "China", "share_percent": 21.4, "year": 2025 }, { "country": "Chile", "share_percent": 19.3, "year": 2025 } ], "critical_lists": [ { "list": "USGS 2025 List of Critical Minerals (final, 7 Nov 2025)", "listed": true }, { "list": "EU Critical Raw Materials Act, Annex II (Regulation 2024/1252)", "listed": true } ], "recycling": "Construction of lithium battery recycling plants continued throughout 2025; automakers and recyclers partnered to supply battery materials. Batteries were 88% of global lithium end use.", "substitutes": [ "USGS: substitution for lithium compounds is possible in batteries, ceramics, greases and glass, but its examples are for primary-battery anodes (calcium, magnesium, mercury, zinc), not lithium-ion cathodes." ], "source": "usgs-lithium-2026", "where": "Domestic Production and Use; World Mine Production and Reserves (shares computed here from 2025 mine production over the 290,000-ton world total, which excludes withheld U.S. data) Critical-list status from crs-usgs-list-2026 (aluminum, cobalt, lithium and nickel are all on the USGS list) and eu-crma-2024 (cobalt, lithium, nickel battery grade, bauxite/alumina/aluminium)." } ], "media": [ { "file": "/media/lithium/lithium-cobalt-oxide-1.jpg", "caption": "Layered crystal structure of lithium cobalt oxide: lithium ions between sheets of CoO6 octahedra.", "shows": "Ball-and-stick model of part of the LiCoO2 crystal structure; lithium (violet) sits between cobalt-oxygen layers (cobalt blue-grey, oxygen red).", "conditions": "Computer rendering from published structural data", "alt": "Ball-and-stick drawing of three cobalt-oxide layers with rows of lithium atoms between them.", "credit": "Ben Mills (Wikimedia Commons)", "license": "Public domain", "license_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lithium-cobalt-oxide-3D-balls.png", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lithium-cobalt-oxide-3D-balls.png" }, { "file": "/media/lithium/lithium-cobalt-oxide-2.jpg", "caption": "The same structure drawn as CoO6 polyhedra.", "shows": "Polyhedral model of part of the LiCoO2 crystal structure, showing the edge-sharing CoO6 octahedra that form the layers lithium moves between.", "conditions": "Computer rendering from published structural data", "alt": "Polyhedral drawing of LiCoO2 with cobalt-oxygen octahedra layers and lithium atoms in between.", "credit": "Ben Mills (Wikimedia Commons)", "license": "Public domain", "license_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lithium-cobalt-oxide-3D-polyhedra.png", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lithium-cobalt-oxide-3D-polyhedra.png" }, { "file": "/media/lithium/lithium-cobalt-oxide-3.jpg", "caption": "ISS lithium-ion battery orbital replacement units (ORUs) on their flight support equipment before launch.", "shows": "Li-ion battery units for the International Space Station, whose cells are lithium cobalt oxide / graphite.", "conditions": "Ground photograph from a NASA presentation, pre-launch", "alt": "Overhead view of white-wrapped battery boxes on a yellow frame in a processing hall.", "credit": "NASA", "license": "Public domain", "license_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Li-ion_batteries_as_ISS-ORUs.jpg", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Li-ion_batteries_as_ISS-ORUs.jpg" }, { "file": "/media/lithium/lithium-cobalt-oxide-4.jpg", "caption": "Temperature and self-heating rate of four 18650 cells in an accelerating rate calorimeter; panel C is the LCO cell.", "shows": "Cell temperature (red) and rate of temperature rise (blue) against time for NCM811 (A), NCA (B), LCO (C) and LFP (D) cells at 100% state of charge. The LCO cell peaks near 545 °C.", "conditions": "ARC heat-wait-search from 60 to 300 °C, commercial 18650 cells, 100% SOC", "alt": "Four line charts of temperature and heating rate over time; each lithium-ion cell shows a sudden spike at thermal runaway, except the LFP cell.", "credit": "Yuan Y. et al., Frontiers in Chemistry 12 (2024), Figure 3", "license": "CC BY", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "source_url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2024.1324840" } ], "documents": [ { "title": "Lithium cobalt (III) oxide safety data sheet (Stanford Advanced Materials)", "type": "sds", "url": "https://samaterials.com/tds/1690966028-19-lithium-cobalt-iii-oxide-powder-lco-powder.pdf", "year": 2020 }, { "title": "NASA: International Space Station Lithium-Ion Battery Status (Nov 2019)", "type": "report", "url": "https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20200000004", "year": 2019 }, { "title": "NASA JPL: Energy Storage Technologies for Future Planetary Science Missions", "type": "report", "url": "https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/system/downloadable_items/716_Energy_Storage_Tech_Report_FINAL.PDF", "year": 2017 }, { "title": "Decoding high-voltage LiCoO2: from degradation to stabilization (open access review)", "type": "paper", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202523570", "year": 2026 }, { "title": "Influence of cathode materials on thermal characteristics of lithium-ion batteries (open access)", "type": "paper", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2024.1324840", "year": 2024 } ], "gaps": [ "Crystallographic (true) density of LCO: not found; only a tap density is given.", "Volume change on cycling: no sourced percentage read. Sources only say the c-axis and volume change cause cracking and a monoclinic phase forms near 4.2 V.", "Material-level thermal data for charged LCO powder (DSC onset and heat): not found; only the whole-cell ARC value is given.", "Cold-temperature capacity as % of room-temperature capacity: not found. NASA notes MSA Co-oxide cells cycled at -10 and 0 °C only after raising the charge voltage limit to 4.5 V per cell, and YTP Co/Ni cells could not charge well at low temperature.", "Measured practical capacity rate: the 140 mAh/g value does not state the C-rate.", "Crustal abundance of cobalt and lithium: no source opened.", "Radiation, vacuum or thermal-vacuum test results specific to LCO: none found. Flight evidence is battery-level (ISS and listed NASA missions).", "Humid-air stability of LCO powder: no measured data found." ], "story": { "why": "Lithium cobalt oxide (LCO, LiCoO₂) is the layered-oxide cathode of the first commercial lithium-ion cells, which Sony introduced in 1991. It crystallizes in the layered R-3m structure and remains the predominant cathode for portable electronic devices. NASA also lists it in the batteries of many spacecraft, including the lithium-ion batteries of the International Space Station. Its strengths are compact cells with a flat voltage near 3.9 V and a long flight record. Its limits are that ordinary 4.2 V cells use only about half of its theoretical capacity, that charging far above that damages the structure, and that a charged cell releases a great deal of heat when it fails.", "uses": [ { "where": "International Space Station main power", "line": "GS Yuasa 134 Ah LCO/graphite cells, 30 in series per battery, replaced two nickel-hydrogen units on the station. The first six batteries launched on HTV-6 on 9 December 2016, and two station power channels have run on lithium-ion batteries alone since January 2017. On orbit, one battery set had accumulated about 16,000 cycles." }, { "where": "NASA science spacecraft", "line": "NASA lists LCO lithium-ion batteries on Kepler, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, LCROSS, LADEE, DSCOVR, MMS, the James Webb Space Telescope and JPSS-2. Small Sony 18650 LCO cells serve in batteries on Kepler, Aquarius and SMAP." }, { "where": "Portable electronics", "line": "Sony commercialised lithium-ion cells in 1991, and LCO became the predominant commercial cathode. It dominates the cells of portable electronic devices." } ], "can_do": [ { "label": "Capacity", "line": "The theoretical specific capacity is 274 mAh/g. A conventional cell charged to 4.2 V delivers about 140 mAh/g, which is 51% of the theoretical value. Charging to a higher voltage gives more capacity but faster degradation.", "scope": "material", "value": "About 140 mAh/g" }, { "label": "Voltage", "line": "LCO operates between about 3.9 and 4.2 V versus Li/Li⁺. In one nanostructured sol-gel electrode, the first plateau of the charge-discharge curve sat near 3.92 V.", "scope": "material", "value": "3.9 to 4.2 V" }, { "label": "Thermal behavior", "line": "A fully charged 2.2 Ah 18650 LCO/graphite cell began to heat itself at 111.78 °C in an accelerating-rate calorimetry test, ran away at 180.16 °C and reached 545.11 °C. The same paper ranks the runaway danger of the four chemistries it tested as LCO > NCA > NCM811 >> LFP.", "scope": "material", "value": "Peaked at 545 °C" }, { "label": "Cycle life in orbit", "line": "The ISS batteries had accumulated about 16,000 cycles on orbit at a 3.95 V end-of-charge voltage per cell and were reported as performing well. This counts cycles so far, not cycles to failure.", "scope": "material", "value": "About 16,000 cycles" }, { "label": "Conductivity", "line": "The electronic conductivity of sintered LCO pellets at 20 °C was about 6 × 10⁻⁸ S/cm. Conductivity rises by six orders of magnitude between LiCoO₂ and Li₀.₅CoO₂, as lithium is removed.", "scope": "material", "value": "6 × 10⁻⁸ S/cm" } ], "compare": "LCO is the oldest and most proven of the layered oxides and has the longest flight record in this collection. It stores far more per gram than LFP in theory, 274 mAh/g against 170 mAh/g, but in a 4.2 V cell it delivers about half of that. Its thermal behavior is the weakest: in the one four-chemistry test collected here, LCO ranked as the most dangerous in runaway and LFP as the least. The table compares LCO with the other cathodes in the collection.", "compare_rows": [ { "label": "Density", "benchmark": "density", "scope": "material" }, { "label": "Practical capacity", "benchmark": "practical_capacity", "scope": "material" }, { "label": "Avg voltage", "benchmark": "avg_voltage", "scope": "material" } ], "handling": [], "good_for": [ "A proven, compact cell with a flat voltage near 3.9 V.", "A long flight record, including about 16,000 on-orbit cycles for the ISS batteries." ], "watch_out": [ "Normal 4.2 V cells use only about half of the theoretical capacity, and charging beyond 4.6 V damages the structure irreversibly.", "Thermal runaway is severe: 545 °C in an adiabatic test, ranked the most dangerous of LCO, NCA, NCM811 and LFP.", "Cobalt is costly and tied to one dominant supplier country, and cobalt-containing powders carry serious hazard classifications." ], "verdict": "LCO is the proven but unforgiving choice. It has the longest record and a flat voltage, and it needs careful charge limits and protection because it fails hot.", "recipe": { "line": "LiCoO₂ is a lithium metal oxide. Each formula unit combines one lithium ion, one cobalt atom and two oxygen atoms in a layered structure.", "parts": [ { "name": "Lithium", "symbol": "Li", "role": "The mobile species. Lithium ions leave and re-enter the layers between the cobalt oxide sheets as the cell charges and discharges.", "atoms": 1, "atomic_weight": 6.94 }, { "name": "Cobalt", "symbol": "Co", "role": "The redox center. Cobalt changes oxidation state as lithium leaves and returns, which stores and releases the charge.", "atoms": 1, "atomic_weight": 58.933 }, { "name": "Oxygen", "symbol": "O", "role": "Bonds with cobalt to form the oxide layers that hold the structure together.", "atoms": 2, "atomic_weight": 15.999 } ] }, "risk_groups": [ { "title": "For people", "lead": "LCO powder carries serious hazard classifications, and they vary between notifiers. Check the safety data sheet of the exact powder.", "points": [ { "label": "Database entries", "line": "PubChem aggregates 194 ECHA notifications for lithium cobalt oxide, and the notified classifications differ. The most common are may cause an allergic skin reaction (26.8%), may cause cancer (22.7%), and may damage fertility or the unborn child (12.4%, or 58.8% with suspected unborn-child harm). Other notifications add fatal if inhaled, allergy or asthma symptoms if inhaled, and damage to organs through prolonged exposure." }, { "label": "A supplier sheet", "line": "A supplier safety data sheet (revision 18 February 2020) classifies it as carcinogenicity category 1B and reproductive toxicity category 2 (suspected of damaging fertility), with the signal word Danger. It lists an ACGIH exposure limit of 0.02 mg/m³, as cobalt, averaged over a work shift." }, { "label": "Dust", "line": "Avoid dust and store the powder locked up." } ], "level": 3, "verdict": "Serious hazard classifications" }, { "title": "If a cell overheats", "lead": "These results come from laboratory tests and from design requirements for spacecraft batteries.", "points": [ { "label": "A charged 18650 cell", "line": "A fully charged 2.2 Ah LCO/graphite cell in an accelerating-rate calorimeter began to heat itself at 111.78 °C, ran away (over 10 °C/min) at 180.16 °C and reached 545.11 °C. That is above the autoignition temperature of 445 °C the paper quotes for diethyl carbonate. The authors attribute the first onset to decomposition of the film on the graphite anode, not to the cathode." }, { "label": "Over-charging", "line": "Phase transitions below 4.5 V are reversible with negligible capacity loss. Charging beyond 4.6 V causes irreversible structural damage, with lattice contraction and cracking of particles." }, { "label": "Oxygen loss", "line": "Oxygen evolution switches on above about 4.3 V, and the review puts the threshold for significant release at 4.5 V. Release at high voltage or above 60 °C is described as a primary trigger of thermal instability." }, { "label": "One cell next to others", "line": "The ISS design requires that a failure does not propagate beyond the battery unit. Safety features include two independent controls against thermal runaway, radiant barriers between cell pairs, directed vents and a flame trap. A failure of a battery charge and discharge unit in 2018 blew the fuse in one new ISS lithium-ion battery." }, { "label": "Metals on the anode", "line": "Dissolved cobalt migrates from the cathode to the anode and slows lithium movement there, which adds to impedance and capacity loss." } ] }, { "title": "Handling and storage", "points": [ { "label": "Storage", "line": "The safety data sheet calls for an inert atmosphere, a tightly closed container in a dry place, protection from moisture, and avoiding dust." }, { "label": "Protection in spacecraft", "line": "The ISS batteries monitor voltage and temperature in all 30 cells, isolate faults cell by cell, and add radiant barriers, controlled vent direction, an overpressure relief and flame trap, and an internal fusible link in each cell." }, { "label": "Higher voltage", "line": "Doping, surface coating, single-crystal particles and electrolyte additives are the approaches the review lists for keeping LCO stable at higher charge voltage." } ] } ] }, "updated": "2026-10-16", "review": { "status": "draft", "method": "assistant", "checked_values": 12, "unreachable": 0, "caveats": 2, "note": "Re-read by an AI assistant on 2026-10-16: 12 of 12 benchmark values match their cited source; 0 could not be opened; 0 did not match." }, "sources": { "adv-mater-lco-2026": { "title": "Decoding High-voltage LiCoO2: From Degradation to Stabilization Toward Durable Li-ion Batteries", "id": "doi:10.1002/adma.202523570", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202523570", "year": 2026, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY 4.0" }, "ijms-nano-2026": { "title": "Nanostructured Cathode Materials for Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Batteries: Synthesis, Morphology, and Performances", "id": "doi:10.3390/ijms27156797", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27156797", "year": 2026, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY 4.0" }, "iscience-lco-2025": { "title": "Electronic transport properties in lithium cobalt oxide battery electrode material studied in ion-gated transistor configuration", "id": "doi:10.1016/j.isci.2025.112657", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.112657", "year": 2025, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0" }, "yuan-2024": { "title": "Influence of cathode materials on thermal characteristics of lithium-ion batteries", "id": "doi:10.3389/fchem.2024.1324840", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2024.1324840", "year": 2024, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY" }, "yang-2026": { "title": "A Review of Failure Modes and Safety Strategies of Lithium-Ion Batteries from Materials to Systems", "id": "doi:10.1002/advs.76228", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.76228", "year": 2026, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY 4.0" }, "nasa-jpl-estorage": { "title": "Energy Storage Technologies for Future Planetary Science Missions", "id": "JPL D-101146", "url": "https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/system/downloadable_items/716_Energy_Storage_Tech_Report_FINAL.PDF", "year": 2017, "kind": "report", "license": "public domain" }, "nasa-iss-2016": { "title": "International Space Station Lithium-Ion Battery (NASA Aerospace Battery Workshop, 15 Nov 2016)", "id": "NTRS 20170004112", "url": "https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20170004112", "year": 2016, "kind": "report", "license": "public domain" }, "nasa-iss-2019": { "title": "International Space Station Lithium-Ion Battery Status (NASA Aerospace Battery Workshop, 19 Nov 2019)", "id": "NTRS 20200000004", "url": "https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20200000004", "year": 2019, "kind": "report", "license": "public domain" }, "nasa-rao-2001": { "title": "Performance of Li-Ion Cells Under Battery Voltage Charge Control", "id": "NTRS 20020043395", "url": "https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20020043395", "year": 2001, "kind": "report", "license": "public domain" }, "pubchem-lco": { "title": "PubChem: Lithium cobalt oxide (CID 23670860), GHS classification", "id": "CID 23670860", "url": "https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/23670860", "year": 2026, "kind": "database", "license": "public domain" }, "sds-lco-sam": { "title": "Safety Data Sheet: Lithium cobalt (III) oxide, Stanford Advanced Materials, revision 18 Feb 2020", "id": "CAS 12190-79-3", "url": "https://samaterials.com/tds/1690966028-19-lithium-cobalt-iii-oxide-powder-lco-powder.pdf", "year": 2020, "kind": "datasheet", "license": "supplier document, cited for facts only" }, "usgs-cobalt-2026": { "title": "Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Cobalt", "id": "USGS MCS 2026", "url": "https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-cobalt.pdf", "year": 2026, "kind": "report", "license": "public domain" }, "usgs-lithium-2026": { "title": "Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Lithium", "id": "USGS MCS 2026", "url": "https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-lithium.pdf", "year": 2026, "kind": "report", "license": "public domain" }, "chemrev-single-crystal-2025": { "title": "Single Crystal Cathode Materials for Lithium-Based Batteries: Synthesis, Scaleup, and Manufacturing", "id": "doi:10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00485", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c00485", "year": 2025, "kind": "paper", "license": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0" }, "crs-usgs-list-2026": { "title": "U.S. Geological Survey's Critical Minerals List (CRS In Focus IF13145, 7 Jan 2026), summarising the Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals", "id": "CRS IF13145", "url": "https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/IF13145.html", "year": 2026, "kind": "report", "license": "public domain (Congressional Research Service)" }, "eu-crma-2024": { "title": "Regulation (EU) 2024/1252, Annex II, list of critical raw materials (EUR-Lex text)", "id": "Regulation (EU) 2024/1252", "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1252/oj", "year": 2024, "kind": "standard", "license": "EU legislation, reuse permitted" } }, "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "url": "https://spacemushroom.com/profiles/lithium-cobalt-oxide/" }