Preparation and electrochemical/thermal properties of LiNi0.74Co0.26O2 cathode material

Electrochemical and thermal properties of LiNi0.74Co0.26O2 cathode material with 5, 13 and 25 mum-sized particles have been studied by using a coin-ty pe half-cell Li/LiNi0.74Co0.26O2. The specific capacity of the material ran ges from 205 to 210 mA h g(-1), depending on the particle size or the Bruna uer, Emmett and Teller (BET) surface area. Among the particle sizes, the ca thode with a particle size of 13 mum shows the highest specific capacity. E ven though the material with a particle size of 5 mum exhibits the smallest capacity value of 205 mA h g(-1), no capacity fading was observed after 70 cycles between 4.3 and 2.75 V at the 1 C rate. Differential scanning calor imetry (DSC) studies of the charged electrode at 4.3 V show a close relatio nship between particle size (BET surface area) and thermal stability of the electrode, namely, a larger particle size (smaller BET surface area) leads to a better thermal stability of the LiNi0.74Co0.26O2 cathode. (C) 2001 El sevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.