Self-Propagating High Temperature Synthesis of LiCoO_2 as Cathode Material for Lithium Ion Batteries

Lithium cobalt oxides(LiCoO_2)powders were synthesized by self-propagating high term perature synthesis using urea as fuel.XRD,SEM and electrochemical method were used to investigate the effects of mole ratio of urea to Co,mole ratio of Li to Co,combustion temperature,annealing tem- perature and the annealing time on the performance of LiCoO_2.The results show that self-propagating high temperature synthesis is beneficial to form the layer structure of LiCoO_2.The optimum condition is obtained as follows:molar ratio of urea to Co is 1:1,molar ratio of Li to Co is 1:1,combustion tem- perature and annealing temperature are 800℃and annealing time is 2h,Under the optimum condition, the discharge capacity of LiCoO_2 is 155mAh/g,and its capacity retention is 95% after 10 cycles.