Thermal Stability of Nickel-based Lithium Transition Metal Oxides as the Cathode Materials for Lithium-ion Batteries

Lithium nickel oxide as the positive electrode of rechargeable lithium ion batteries with a high energy density and lower cost has aroused more and more interests. However, LiNiO2 has a few disadvantages which prevent this material from being used as a cathode material for rechargeable lithium ion batteries. Poor thermal stability is one of its major disadvantages. In this paper, the progress in recent researches on the thermal behavior of full-lithiated, electrochemically delithiated Li1_xNi02 and the thermal decomposition mechanism were reviewed, and the studies for developing nickel-based lithium transition metal oxides with improved thermal stability as cathode materials were summarized.