Synthesis and electrochemical performance of macroporous LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 by a modified sol-gel method

Macroporous LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 particles were prepared by a modified sol-gel method based on resorcinol and formaldehyde. The influence of annealing temperature on the physical and electrochemical performance was investigated. Among these oxides, 800 degrees C-annealed LiNiO3Co0.2Mn0.3O2 with good crystallinity delivers the highest value of integrated intensity I-(003)/I-(104) and the lowest value of (I-(006)+I-(102))/I-(101), implying that this sample has the least cation mixing and best hexagonal ordering. This sample exhibits a high initial discharge capacity of 167.9 mAh/g tested at 50 mA/g, the largest capacity retention of 92.1% after 50 cycles at 300 mA/g, and the highest discharge capacity of 138.2 mAh/g at 1000 mA/g. The excellent electrochemical performance of this oxide is attributed to its well crystallinity, high cation ordering, and good hexagonal ordering. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.