A comparative study on lithium nickel cobalt oxide prepared by different wet chemistry routes

LiNi_0.8Co_0.2O₂ is one of the potential cathode materials for Li-ion battery. Materials with a homogeneous phase, narrow distribution of particle size, and with enhanced performance of Li-ion battery can be achieved by wet chemistry. Coprecipitation, sol–gel, and hydrothermal reactions were used to prepare LiNi_0.8Co_0.2O₂ in order to compare its effects on materials properties. The synthesized products were examined by using a scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive X-ray, X-ray diffractometry, Rietveld refinement, and cyclability measurements. Sol–gel’s sample has superior electrochemical performance to that of coprecipitation. Hydrothermal reaction fails to form the product; however, it was found that the crystal morphology correlates with its local ratio of cobalt-to-nickel content.