Preparation and electrochemical properties of glass-modified LiCoO2 cathode powders

•Lithium boron oxide glass-modified LiCoO2 nanopowders are prepared by flame spray pyrolysis.•The glass-modified powders have a mean size of 120 nm and good electrochemical properties.•The capacity retention of the 5 wt% glass-modified LiCoO2 powders is 98% by the 50th cycle.

Pure LiCoO2 nanopowders and those coated with lithium boron oxide (LBO) glass are prepared directly using high-temperature flame spray pyrolysis. Prior to post-treatment, the LiCoO2 powders with nanometer-size particles have low discharge capacities and poor cycle properties, irrespective of the amount of glass material. Post-treatment at 500 °C does not improve these properties significantly; however, the LBO glass-modified LiCoO2 powders post-treated at 600 and 700 °C demonstrates good cycle performance. The discharge capacity of the 5 wt% glass-modified LiCoO2 powders post-treated at 600 °C with a mean particle size of 120 nm, decreases from 122 to 109 mAh g−1 after 50 cycles, with a capacity retention of 89%. The capacity retentions of the pure and 2, 5, and 10 wt% glass-modified LiCoO2 powders post-treated at 700 °C are 86, 96, 98, and 98% after 50 cycles, respectively.

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