Crystal Growth of Li[Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3]O2as a Cathode Material for High-Performance Lithium Ion Batteries

Li[Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3]O2 (L333) has been successfully synthesized through a two-step coprecipitation and annealing method. Crystal phase and growth behavior were monitored by X-ray diffraction (XRD), while particle morphologies were observed by SEM and TEM. The crystal growth mechanisms during the annealing process were interpreted, and the growth exponent and activation energy for crystal growth were calculated. At low temperatures (e.g., 600 °C), L333 crystals are quite small (ca. 14 nm). Significant crystal growth occurs above 750 °C with crystallite diameters increasing to 850 ± 10 nm after 3 h at 1000 °C.