Carbon combustion synthesis of lithium cobalt oxide as cathode material for lithium ion battery

Lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) was synthesized by carbon combustion synthesis (CCS) using carbon as fuel. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) measurements showed that carbon combustion led to the formation of layered structure of LiCoO2 and the particle size could be controlled by carbon content. For the LiCoO2 sample prepared at 800 °C for 2 h, at molar ratio of C/Co = 0.5, the particle-size distribution fell in the narrow range of 3–5 μm. Electrochemical tests indicated this LiCoO2 sample delivered an initial discharge capacity of 148 mAh/g with capacity retention rate higher than 97% after 10 cycles.