Improving the electrochemical performance of layered lithium-rich transition-metal oxides by controlling the structural defects

We report the electrochemical properties of layered lithium-rich Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 cathode materials with various degrees of stacking faults, which are prepared via a facile molten-salt method using a variety of fluxes including KCl, Li2CO3, and LiNO3. The frequency of the stacking faults is highly dependent on the temperature and molten salt type used during the synthesis. A well-crystallized Li1.18Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 nanomaterial with a larger amount of stacking faults synthesized at 800 °C for 10 h in an inactive KCl flux delivers a high reversible capacity of ∼310 mA h g−1 at room temperature, while the samples prepared in the chemically active fluxes with a smaller amount of stacking faults show poor electrochemical performance.