Preparation and electrochemical properties of cathode materials for lithium ion battery by aerosol process

Lithium transition metal oxide powders such as LiMn2O4, LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4, LiCo1/3Ni1/3Mn1/3O2 and LiFePO4 were prepared by spray pyrolysis. The particle characteristics of them were determined by SEM, XRD, BET and AAS. Lithium transition metal oxide powders had spherical morphology of 1–2 μm with narrow size distribution and homogeneous chemical composition. The electrochemical properties of cathode were also estimated by rechargeable capacity, cycle performance, thermal stability and high rate charging. The cathodes obtained by spray pyrolysis exhibited that the discharge capacity of LiMn2O4, LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4, LiCo1/3Ni1/3Mn1/3O2 and LiFePO4 was 120, 130, 170 and 150 mAh/g, respectively and stable up to 500 cycles at a rate of 1 C. Mass production of lithium transition metal oxide powders was carried out by using internal combustion type of spray pyrolysis. The electrochemical properties of cathode obtained by internal combustion type spray pyrolysis were comparable with those obtained by spray pyrolysis.