Fast formation to reinforce lithium-rich cathodes

Article

Published: 17 June 2026

Mengjian Fan 1   na1 ,

Jiantao Li

ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2277-849X 2   na1 ,

Guiyang Gao 1 ,

Benli Jiang

ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1916-8383 3 ,

Longlong Fan 4 ,

Qingxi Yuan 4 ,

Yinggan Zhang 1 ,

Hongfei Zheng 1 ,

Saichao Li 1 ,

Liang Lin 1 ,

Zonghai Chen

ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5371-9463 5 ,

Yang Ren

ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9831-6035 6 ,

Yuanyuan Liu 1 ,

Wei He 1 ,

Gaosheng Chen 7 ,

Baisheng Sa

ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9455-7795 8 ,

Laisen Wang 1 ,

Jie Lin 1 ,

Dong-Liang Peng

ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4155-4766 1 &

…

Qingshui Xie

ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2105-6962 1

Nature

( 2026 ) Cite this article

Abstract

Formation in lithium-ion battery manufacturing typically involves low-rate charge–discharge cycles to establish stable electrode–electrolyte interfaces—a time-consuming process 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 . Here, our findings on lithium-rich layered oxide cathodes challenge the necessity of conventional formation, which can even shorten battery lifespan. Fast formation, on the other hand, reduces production cost and enhances capacity and stability. Multiscale synchrotron-based techniques show that residual lithium ions after the initial charge are critical for subsequent structural evolution and cycling performance. Deep lithium de-intercalation causes severe structural degradation and capacity loss due to the inherently fragile lithium-deficient matrix. By contrast, the residual lithium ions from fast formation enhance reversibility through a self-pinning effect, preventing pernicious lattice deformation and reinforcing the ion-storage framework. Adjusting the initial charge current density from 0.2 C to 2 C improves reversible capacity by 20% and extends cycle life by more than 36%. This approach can also be extended to other electrode systems, providing insights for more-efficient battery production.

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Fig. 1: An overview of how formation rate affects battery production and performance. The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

Fig. 2: Structural evolution and atomic-level observation of cobalt-free LLO cathodes in the initial charge process. The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

Fig. 3: Chemical phase distributions of Ni and Mn of cobalt-free LLO cathodes in the initial charge process. The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

Fig. 4: Structural transformation reversibility of cobalt-free LLO cathodes after formation. The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

Fig. 5: Formation-dependent structural evolution and electrochemical behaviour of cobalt-free LLO cathodes during long-term cycling. The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

Data availability

All data supporting the findings of this study are available in the paper and the  Supplementary Information .  Source data are provided with this paper.

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