Electrospinning synthesis of novel lithium-rich 0.4Li₂MnO₃·0.6LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ nanotube and its electrochemical performance as cathode of lithium-ion battery

Abstract

In this study, a lithium-rich layered 0.4Li₂MnO₃·0.6LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ nanotube cathode synthesized by novel electrospinning is reported, and the effects of temperature on the electrochemical performance and morphologies are investigated. The crystal structure is characterized by X-ray diffraction patterns, and refined by two sets of diffraction data (R-3m and C2/m). Refined crystal structure is 0.4Li₂MnO₃·0.6LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ composite. The inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer and thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry analysis measurement supply reference to optimize the calcination temperature and heat-treatment time. The morphology is characterized by scanning and high-resolution transmission electron microscope techniques, and the micro-nanostructured hollow tubes of Li-rich 0.4Li₂MnO₃·0.6LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ composite with outer diameter of 200–400 nm and the wall thickness of 50–80 nm are synthesized successfully. The electrochemical evaluation shows that 0.4Li₂MnO₃·0.6LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ sintered at 800 °C for 8 h delivers the highest capacity of the first discharge capacity of 267.7 mAh/g between 2.5 V and 4.8 V at 0.1C and remains 183.3 mAh/g after 50 cycles. The electrospinning method with heat-treatment to get micro-nanostructured lithium-rich cathode shows promising application in lithium-ion batteries with stable electrochemical performance and higher C-rate performance for its shorter Li ions transfer channels and stable designed structure.

Keywords

Electrospinning / Cathode / Nanotube / Lithium-rich / Lithium battery