Influence of the synthesis route on the electrochemical properties of LiNi0.425Mn0.425Co0.15O2

“LiNi0.425Mn0.425Co0.15O2” has been synthesized by three different methods at 1000 °C for 12 h in air: (1) coprecipitation of a mixed nickel, manganese and cobalt hydroxide and then removal of the solvents by evaporation, (2) same precipitation conditions as (1) but the solvents were removed by freeze-drying, (3) a mixed nickel, manganese and cobalt hydroxide was prepared from coprecipitation of the transition metal ions into lithium hydroxide only and, after washing and drying, the hydroxide was mixed with lithium carbonate and calcined at 1000 °C for 12 h in air. Chemical titrations, X-ray diffraction analyses by the Rietveld method and magnetic measurements showed that very similar overall chemical formula and cationic distributions were obtained for “LiNi0.425Mn0.425Co0.15O2” synthesized by the three different methods. However, scanning electron micrographs, particle size distribution and specific surface area measurements showed textural differences in the three “LiNi0.425Mn0.425Co0.15O2” samples, which are believed to play a key role in the electrode preparation and thus to explain the differences observed in the electrochemical behavior in lithium battery.