High rate cycling performance of Li1.05Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 materials prepared by sol–gel and co-precipitation methods for lithium-ion batteries

High rate performance of Li1.05Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 cathode materials prepared using sol–gel (SG) and co-precipitation (CP) methods were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy results showed that the particle sizes of the materials prepared by SG and CP methods were 300–400 nm and 1–2 μm, respectively. Rate capability tests were performed and compared on these cathode materials with same electrode loading (7 mg cm−2). Li1.05Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 cathode with smaller particle size (SG-nano) demonstrated higher discharge capacity than that of the cathode with larger particle size (CP-micro) at different C-rates. However, upon extended cycling at 1C and 8C, CP-micro showed better capacity retention when compared to that of SG-nano. CP-micro exhibited 95 and 91% where as SG-nano exhibited only 87 and 76%, respectively, at 1C and 8C after 50 cycles. The results showed that the use of nanosized materials was advantageous for obtaining a better rate capability where as the use of microsized materials was beneficial for better capacity retention during extended cycling at high C-rates.