Heat Treatment Strategy to Improve the Structural Characteristic and Electrochemical Performance of LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 Cathode Material

LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 (NMC622) is one of the cathode materials of lithium-ion battery which has a high specific energy, high specific power, long life cycle, and low cost. Various attempts have been performed to obtain high capacity NMC622. In this research, high capacity NMC622 was obtained by tuning the sintering heat rate during NMC cathode material formation. The NMC622 precursor was obtained via facile oxalate precipitation. The heating rate during the sintering process was 5, 7.5, and 10°C/min. NMC cathode material is characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The as-obtained NMC622 cathode material was applied directly in a 18650 cylindrical cell where artificial graphite was utilized as the anode. Based on the results, the optimum heat-rate was established at 7.5°C/min with a specific discharge capacity of~130.19 mAh/g using 20 mAh/g charge-discharge current.