A facile method to synthesize spherical LiNiCoAlO cathode material

Spherical LiNiCoAlO (LNCA) cathode material has been synthesized from a spherical Ni(OH) precursor by conventional solid-state synthesis and the effects of calcination temperature on crystal structure, particles morphology and electrochemical performance have been investigated. The reaction synthesis processed has been investigated by TG/DSC. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements show that samples annealed at 750 and 800 °C are pure hexagonal phase with well-defined layer structure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) result demonstrate that most LNCA particles inherited the spherical shape of Ni(OH). Crystal lattice fringe arranged along the (003) axis is found in transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis. Electrochemical analysis demonstrates that among the investigated calcination temperature, a cell with LNCA sintered at 750 °C exhibits the best electrochemical properties with an initial discharge capacity of 194 mAh g at 0.2 C and acceptable capacity retention of 85.2% after 100 cycles at 1 C. This work provides a new way to prepare spherical LiNiCoAlO cathode material with acceptable electrochemical performances.