Synthesis and characterization of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 cathode material for rechargeable lithium batteries by polyacrylic acid-assisted sol–gel method

Nanocrystalline LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 cathode materials are synthesized by sol–gel method using polyacrylic acid as a chelating agent. The effects of the calcination temperature and calcination time on the structure, morphology, and electrochemical performances of the LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 electrode materials are investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and charge–discharge cycling test, respectively. All experiments show that the microscopic structural features and the morphology properties are deeply related with the electrochemical performance. The results show that the nanocrystalline LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 with a particle size of 80 nm sintered at 700 °C for 2 h presents good α-NaFeO2 layer structure and the best electrochemical performance. When it is discharged between 4.4 and 2.8 V at 20 mAg−1, the initial specific capacity of the LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 obtained at 700 °C for 2 h is 169.2 mAhg−1. The investigated electrode materials retain 151 mAhg−1 after 30 cycles when cycled at 20 mAg−1.