Effect of particle size and crystallinity on the charge and discharge property of layered LiNi0.5Mn0.5O2

• I (003)/I (104) can not used as an indication directly to identify the Li/Ni exchange.
• The sintering temperature has little influence on the extent of cation disorder.
• Particle size and crystallinity play important roles in determining the charge and discharge properties.

Layered structure LiNi0.5Mn0.5O2 powders are prepared by hydroxide co-precipitation method. The samples are sintered at temperatures from 750 to 1000 °C. The galvanostatic charge and discharge tests show that the samples prepared at 800 and 850 °C deliver higher specific capacity than other samples sintered at higher temperatures. Three factors affecting the final electrochemical performances are discussed. XRD and SEM analyses show that the crystallinity and particle size increase with increasing sintering temperature, whereas, the cation disorder keeps constant. So the two factors, crystallinity and particle size, are considered playing important roles in determination the final performance of these samples sintered at different temperatures. Moreover, the integrated intensity ratios of the (003) to (104) reflections are not suggested as an indication of cation disorder directly.