Synthesis and characterization of layered Li(Ni1/3Mn1/3Co1/3)O2 cathode materials by spray-drying method

Spherical Li(Ni1/3Mn1/3Co1/3)O2 was prepared via the homogenous precursors produced by solution spray-drying method. The precursors were sintered at different temperatures between 600 and 1 000 °C for 10 h. The impacts of different sintering temperatures on the structure and electrochemical performances of Li(Ni1/3Mn1/3Co1/3)O2 were compared by means of X-ray diffractometry(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), and charge/discharge test as cathode materials for lithium ion batteries. The experimental results show that the spherical morphology of the spray-dried powers maintains during the subsequent heat treatment and the specific capacity increases with rising sintering temperature. When the sintering temperature rises up to 900 °C, Li(Ni1/3Mn1/3Co1/3)O2 attains a reversible capacity of 153 mA-h/g between 3.00 and 4.35 V at 0.2C rate with excellent cyclability.