Using molten-salts as a thermal processing medium for cobalt-free lithium-rich cathode material

Abstract

Lithium-rich nickel manganese oxide cathode materials are well known to have limited rate capabilities. In this investigation we demonstrate that modifying a common sol-gel synthetic route by adding simple salts to the precursors during firing can create a molten-salt environment for the synthesis of the material that may results in improved materials and performance attributes. After screening multiple salt species, our findings indicate that the use of NaCl can provide a cost-effective and facile method for increasing the rate capability of these materials.