Characteristics of precursor powders of a nickel-rich cathode material prepared by a spray drying process using water-soluble metal salts

Abstract

The electrochemical properties of LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Al_0.05O₂ as a cathode material prepared by a simple spray drying process are investigated. Citric acid, which is used as the chelating agent, enables the production of the lithium-containing precursor powders with uniform compositions from the water-soluble metal salts by a spray drying process. The post-treatment of the precursor powders under an atmosphere of oxygen results in a cathode material in the form of a powder with good electrochemical properties. The composition of the powders is determined by inductively coupled plasma analysis to be Li_1.05Ni_0.81Co_0.15Al_0.04O₂. The discharge capacities of the powders post-treated at 750 °C after the 1^st and 100^th cycles are 188 and 178 mA h g⁻¹, respectively. The simple spray drying process is successfully applied to the preparation of precursors of the cathode material with complex compositions. The electrochemical properties of the micron sized LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Al_0.05O₂ aggregates with a filled morphology prepared from the precursor powders obtained by the spray drying process are also investigated. The aggregated powders obtained by the second spray drying process show a discharge capacity of 161 mA h g⁻¹ after 100 cycles.