PARTICULATE SOL-GEL SYNTHESIS AND ELECTROCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OFLIMO2 (M=NI, NI0.75CO0.25) POWDERS

A particulate sol-gel (PSG) process has been developed for synthesizin g LiNiO2 and LiNi0.75Co0.25O2 powders. The process is a modified deriv ative of the colloidal sol-gel technique and yields a precursor that t ransforms to the oxide by heat treatment at a maximum temperature of 8 00 degrees C in only 2 h. The synthesized oxides also display good ele ctrochemical activity (135 mA h/g for LiNiO2 and 182 mA h/g for LiNi0. 75Co0.25O2) for application in lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. Det ailed structural characterization of the as-prepared xerogels have bee n conducted using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), whil e studying their phase evolution behavior during heat treatment using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results of these studies have been described in this work. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.