Electrochemical characteristics of LiCoO2 nano-powder synthesized via aerosol flame deposition (AFD)

Crystalline LiCoO2 nano-powders for lithium-ion battery were synthesized by aerosol flame deposition (AFD). The aqueous precursor solution was atomized with an ultrasonic vibrator and supplied to the oxy-hydrogen flame by flowing dry Ar gas. The as-deposited soot powders were collected on a substrate placed on a heating stage. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) show that the soot powders were composed of nano-sized particles of Li2CO3, CoCo3 and Co3O4 and the subsequent heat treatments at 700 °C for 5 h that converted these powders to well-layered LiCoO2 powder. The flow rate of H2 flame gas was discovered to have influenced the phase composition in the as-deposited soot. The electrochemical performance of synthesized nano-powders was investigated using 2032 coin-type cell. LiCoO2 nano-powder synthesized at an H2 flow rate of 2.5 l/min sintered at 700 °C for 5 h showed a first discharge capacity of 144 mAh/g and good rechargeability in Li//1 M LiPF6-EC/DEC//LiCoO2 cells between 3 and 4.3 V.