Structural and Electrochemical Studies of La2O3 Coated LiCoO2 Particles

Nanocrystalline LiCoO(2)particles have been surface modified with La(2)O(3)by a simple and cost effective resin coating process. The synthesized pure and La(2)O(3)coated samples were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis / differential scanning calorimetry (TGA/DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. XRD studies revealed that the presence of La(2)O(3)coating over LiCoO(2)particles did not affect the original layer structure of pure LiCo O-2. Also, no extra peak was detected for La(2)O(3)phase. FTIR results confirmed the structural co-ordination of the samples. Also, the shifting and broadening of IR peaks corresponding to LiCoO(2)confirmed the presence of IR peaks of La2O3. TEM image showed the formation of interconnected small nanoparticle subunits structure for LiCoO2. TEM image also showed the presence of thin La(2)O(3)layer over LiCoO2 particles. The cyclic voltammetry studies revealed that the La(2)O(3)coated LiCoO(2)particles exhibited reversible redox peaks with slight increase in peak intensity and peak area compared to pure LiCoO2. It indicates an improved charge storage capacity of La(2)O(3)coated LiCoO(2)sample compared to pure LiCoO(2)sample.