LITHIUM COBALT NICKEL-OXIDE CATHODE MATERIALS PREPARED AT 400-DEGREES-C FOR RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM BATTERIES

A series of compounds LiCo1-xNixO2 (0 less-than-or-equal-to x less-than-or-equal-to 1) has been synthesised at 400-degrees-C. For x less-than-or-equal-to 0.2, the products are essentially single phase and have a cubic-close-packed oxygen-ion lattice. When used as cathodes in lithium cells these compounds discharge most of their capacity at a significantly lower voltage (3.8-3.3 V) than a standard LiCoO2 electrode synthesised at 900-degrees-C (4.4-3.8 V). The capacities obtained from nickel-doped electrodes are significantly higher than those obtained from LiCoO2 electrodes prepared at 400-degrees-C.