Accelerated synthesis and electrochemical performance of Li1+x(Ni0.5Mn0.5)O2+δ cathode materials

Synthesis of Li1+xNi0.5Mn0.5O2+δ (x = 0, 0.3) cathode materials for secondary lithium batteries was performed by freeze-drying method using various chemical precursors. Electrochemical performance of materials demonstrates considerable dependence on their chemical prehistory and Li stoichiometry. Increase in duration of the final annealing at 900 °C since 1–12 h results in decreasing capacity values for all x and chemical prehistories. Observed capacity fall is explained by smaller grain size and, therefore, shorter Li diffusion pathways in the samples obtained using short time annealing.