Temperature-Controlled Synthesis of Li-and Mn-Rich Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 Hollow Nano/Sub-Microsphere Electrodes for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Battery

Abstract

The calcination temperature plays a significant role in the structural, textural, and energy-storage performance of metal oxide nanomaterials in Li-ion battery application. Here, we report the formation of well-crystallized homogeneously dispersed Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 hollow nano/sub-microsphere architectures through a simple cost-effective coprecipitation and chemical mixing route without surface modification for improving the efficiency of energy storage devices. The synthesized Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 hollow nano/sub-microsphere cathode materials are calcined at 800, 900, 950, and 1000 °C. Among them, Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 calcined at 950 °C exhibits a high discharge capacity (277 mAh g-1 at 0.1C rate) and excellent capacity retention (88%) after 50 cycles and also delivers an excellent discharge capacity of >172 mAh g-1 at 5C rate. Good electrochemical performance of Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2-950 is directly related to the optimized size of its primary particles (85 nm) (which constitute the spherical secondary particle, â 720 nm) and homogeneous cation mixing. Higher calcination temperature (≥950 °C) leads to an increase of the primary particle size, poor cycling stability, and inferior rate capacity of Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 due to smashing of quasi-hollow spheres upon repeated lithium ion intercalations/deintercalations. Therefore, Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2-950 is a promising electrode for the next-generation high-voltage and high-capacity Li-ion battery application.