Electrochemical properties of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 as cathode material for Li-ion batteries prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis

•LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 materials are produced using spray pyrolysis.•Capacity retention of 90.5% after 100 cycles at 2 C is obtained.•Excellent batch-to-batch reproducibility is obtained.•No organic additive is needed throughout the preparing process.•Synthesis conditions are suitable for large scale manufacturing.

A robust synthesis method based on spray pyrolysis and solid state reaction is proposed to prepare LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 as cathode material for Li-ion batteries. Spherical Ni–Co–Mn–O precursor powder is synthesized by spray pyrolysis from chlorides solution. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show that the spherical Ni–Co–Mn–O precursor powder turned to submicron-sized LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 powder after solid-state reaction with LiOH at 850 °C. The as-prepared cathode material delivers an initial discharge capacity of 160.8 mA h g−1 and capacity retention of 90.8% after 100 cycles at 1 C (1 C=170 mA g−1) between 2.8 and 4.3 V. Besides, the powder also exhibits excellent rate capability. These excellent performances demonstrate that the introduced strategy is a promising alternative synthesis method for the production of layered cathode materials.