Coprecipitation and Characterization of Na Substituted LiMn0.5Ni0.5O2 for Lithium ion Battery Cathodes

In this study, Li1-xNaxMn0.5Ni0.5O2 materials were successfully synthesized by co-precipitation following by solid state reaction method. X-ray powder diffraction analyses showed that the Li1-xNaxMn0.5Ni0.5O2 materials were single-phase and crystallized in a rhombohedral structure with a space group of R–3m at Na substitution concentrations of 0–20%. When increasing the concentration of Na substitution to 30%, diffraction peaks of Na2Mn3O7 as an impurity phase appeared in the X-ray diffraction pattern of the synthesized material. Rietveld refinements of the X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that the substitutions of Na for Li resulted in significant increments of the lattice constant c and slight increments of the lattice constant a. The results of galvanostatic charge/discharge measurements showed that the substitutions reduced the specific capacity but improved the rate capability of the Li0.8Na0.2Mn0.5Ni0.5O2 in comparison with the LiMn0.5Ni0.5O2 material.