Synthesis and characterization of high-density non-spherical Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 cathode material for lithium ion batteries by two-step drying method

Non-spherical Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 powders have been synthesized using a two-step drying method with 5% excess LiOH at 800 °C for 20 h. The tap-density of the powder obtained is 2.95 g cm−3. This value is remarkably higher than that of the Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 powders obtained by other methods, which range from 1.50 g cm−3 to 2.40 g cm−3. The precursor and Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 are characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). XPS studies show that the predominant oxidation states of Ni, Co and Mn in the precursor are 2+, 3+ and 4+, respectively. XRD results show that the Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 material obtained by the two-step drying method has a well-layered structure with a small amount of cation mixing. SEM confirms that the Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 particles obtained by this method are uniform. The initial discharge capacity of 167 mAh g−1 is obtained between 3 V and 4.3 V at a current of 0.2 C rate. The capacity of 159 mAh g−1 is retained at the end of 30 charge–discharge cycle with a capacity retention of 95%.