Hydrothermal synthesized rugby–like LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 cathode materials with micro-nano structure for high performance Li-ion batteries

Abstract Nickel rich LiNi1-x-yCoxMnyO2 cathode materials have drawn great attention due to its high capacity and high output voltage, thus leading to a high energy density, which could be potentially applicable in electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles. However, the rate capability and long cycle performance of NCM have to be further improved for practical application. In this study, a urea based hydrothermal reaction with sodium 1-dodecanesulfonate (SDS) as the surfactant followed by calcination process was proposed to synthesize NCM523 materials. The obtained compounds possess micro-nano structure (micro-sized rugby particles consisting of nanosheets). The use of urea and SDS play a vital role in the morphology and structure of the synthesized materials, which have been systematically studied. The sample U-4 exhibits the closest metal ratio to the designed one, and its electrochemical performances are superior. It retains 82.9% capacity retentions (3.0–4.3 V at 0.1C, 25 °C) after 100 cycles and delivers a high rate capacity of 112.4 mAh⋅g−1 at 10C. These remarkable performances were attributed to the synergistic effect of the intrinsic property of NCM 523 and the micro-nano morphology.