High rate cycling performance of Li1.05Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 materials prepared by sol-gel and co-precipitation methods for lithium-ion batteries

High rate performance of Li1.05Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 cathode materials prepared using sol-gel (SG) and coprecipitation (CP) methods were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy results showed that the particle sizes of the materials prepared by SG and CP methods were 300-400 nm and 1-2 mu m, respectively. Rate capability tests were performed and compared on these cathode materials with same electrode loading (7 mg cm(-2)). Li1.05Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 cathode with smaller particle size (SG-nano) demonstrated higher discharge capacity than that of the cathode with larger particle size (CP-micro) at different C-rates. However, upon extended cycling at 1C and 8C, CP-micro showed better capacity retention when compared to that of SG-nano. CP-micro exhibited 95 and 91% where as SG-nano exhibited only 87 and 76%, respectively. at 1C and 8C after 50 cycles. The results showed that the use of nanosized materials was advantageous for obtaining a better rate capability where as the use of microsized materials was beneficial for better capacity retention during extended cycling at high C-rates. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.