The effects of Co percent on structure and electrochemical properties of LiNi_xMn_yCo_1-x-yO₂ cathodes

Abstract The stretched supply and high cost of cobalt harm commercial Lithium-ion batteries production and manufacturing, and the fundamental understanding of the influences of Co percent on the structure and electrochemical performance of LiNi x Mn y Co 1-x-y O 2 cathodes is lacking. Therefore, hydrothermal and high-temperature solid-phase methods prepared the LiNi x Mn y Co 1-x-y O 2 cathodes with different Co content. The basic properties of materials, such as crystal structure and overall morphology, are studied in detail using common XRD diffraction and scanning electron microscopy techniques. Meanwhile, the electrochemical performance was tested by a battery-testing workstation. For different Co content, all LiNi x Mn y Co 1-x-y O 2 cathodes present an intact layered structure with R-3m space group and exhibit acceptable reversible discharge specific capacities. The cathodes deliver higher initial discharge-specific capacity when the Co content is 0.08. The LiNi 0.92 Co 0.08 Mn 0.1 O 2 presents higher discharge capacities of 191.8, 182.6, 167.3, 157.9, 143.8, and 116.6 mAh g −1 at different rates from 0.2 to 10 C, respectively. The electrochemical performance analysis results indicate that the LiNi 0.92 Co 0.08 Mn 0.1 O 2 cathode exhibits better rate capacities and cycle performance before the 200 cycles.