Influence of oxygen percentage in calcination atmosphere on structure and electrochemical properties of LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathode material for lithium-ion batteries

Abstract Different calcination atmospheres of air, 50% oxygen (vs. N2) and pure oxygen have been used to prepare special LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathode materials to observe the influence of oxygen composition. To investigate the structure and electrochemical property of the samples using different oxygen compositions, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cycling performance tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were carried out. XRD, SEM, and XPS results show that the sample made using higher oxygen composition has less cation mixing and lower levels of Ni2+. However, both samples have almost the same oxygen environments on their surfaces as well as micro-morphology and size. The sample with a higher oxygen composition shows better electrochemical performance. Interestingly, the electrochemical performance of the sample made using 50% oxygen is similar to that made with pure oxygen and much better than the sample made with air. It has a specific capacity of 202.4 mAh g−1 at 0.1C and a capacity retention of 85.2% after 300 cycles at 1C, which may be meaningful for balancing cost and performance.