Nanostructured LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 with a Hollow Morphology Boosting Cycling Stability as Cathode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 hollow micro–nano hierarchical microspheres (H-NCM811) were synthesized using multishelled hollow structured NiO microspheres as precursors with Co and Mn sources. The traditional synthetic methods of hollow structured NiO microspheres generally require complicated steps. Herein, a general and straightforward method is applied to synthesize the multishelled porous NiO microspheres by the hydrothermal method and calcination at high temperature. Compared to conventional cathode materials, the H-NCM811 cathode materials synthesized by the NiO hollow microsphere exhibit enhanced cycle stability. After 100 charge–discharge cycles at 1 C with a voltage range of 2.8–4.3 V, the capacity retention is 93.3%. Notably the capacity retention is 87.0% after 300 cycles at 5 C compared to 72.0% for the conventional NCM811. The enhanced electrochemical performance can be ascribed to the distinctive nanostructured hollow microsphere's structure, which not only improves the discharge capacity by the higher specific surface area but also can provide a buffer zone during the Li-ion extraction/insertion process and maintain the structure stability.