Controllable Hydrothermal Conversion from Ni-Co-Mn Carbonate Nanoparticles to Microspheres

Abstract

Starting from Ni-Co-Mn carbonate nanoparticles prepared by microreaction technology, uniform spherical particles of Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3CO3 with a size of 3-4 μm were obtained by a controllable hydrothermal conversion with the addition of (NH4)2CO3. Based on characterizations on the evolution of morphology and composition with hydrothermal treatment time, we clarified the mechanism of this novel method as a dissolution-recrystallization process, as well as the effects of (NH4)2CO3 concentration on the morphology and composition of particles. By changing concentrations and the ratio of the starting materials for nano-precipitation preparation, we achieved monotonic regulation on the size of the spherical particles, and the synthesis of Ni0.4Co0.2Mn0.4CO3 and Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3CO3, respectively. In addition, the spherical particles with a core-shell structure were preliminarily verified to be available by introducing nano-precipitateswith different compositions in the hydrothermal treatment in sequence.