High rate performance of LiNi 1/3 Co 1/3 Mn 1/3 O 2 cathode material synthesized by a carbon gel–combustion process for lithium ion batteries

Abstract The LiNi 1/3 Co 1/3 Mn 1/3 O 2 electrode material was prepared via a carbon gel–combustion process using resorcinol–formaldehyde gel as fuel and nitrate as an oxidizer. The carbon gel process ensures the molecular-level homogeneity of the chemical product. The gas derived from carbon gel separates the raw material particles and restrains the growth of the grains to some extent, and well-crystallized nanosized powders are obtained with calcination at 700 °C for 6 h. As the cathode material for lithium-ion batteries, the discharge capacity of LiNi 1/3 Co 1/3 Mn 1/3 O 2 was as high as 175.6 mA h g −1 in the first cycle at 0.5 C, and it could remain 163.0 mA h g −1 within the voltage range of 2.5–4.4 V after 50 cycles. The electrode also showed outstanding rate capacities at high discharge rates such as 30 C and 50 C, suggesting the applications of the material in high power lithium-ion batteries.