Surfactant CTAB-assisted synthesis of Li1.13[Ni0.233Mn0.534Co0.233]0.87O2 with festoon-like hierarchical architectures as cathode materials for Li-ion batteries with outstanding performance

Abstract

Li-rich layered cathode materials Li_1.13[Ni_0.233Mn_0.534Co_0.233]_0.87O₂ are successfully synthesized by a co-precipitation method with hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as a surfactant. The structural and electrochemical feature changes of the resulting cathode materials have been studied thoroughly. When CTAB is considered as a surfactant, well-crystallized Li-rich layered cathode materials are obtained with Li₂CO₃ treatment for the festoon-like precursor hierarchically assembled by nanoplates. Among these oxides, the sample synthesized with CTAB shows a stable mixed phase on the edge of the powder particles and exhibits excellent electrochemical performance. The product delivers the highest initial discharge capacity of 394 mA h g⁻¹ at 0.1 C (1 C = 200 mA g⁻¹) between 2.5 and 4.8 V and 84.1% capacity is retained after 100 cycles. It is considered that the higher capacity and superior rate capability would be ascribed to the activation effect of CTAB, which can form a stable mixed structure and thus effectively alleviate the layered/spinel structure change during cycling.